Journey Volume Two: Who You Really Are
by Jed Rhodes
Summary: Seventeen years ago, a very special child was left at Taiyang's doorstep by Jaune Arc. Now, with new threats looming, that child must learn who she is, and why she was born, and face up to a destiny that she never would have imagined...
1. Prologue

**JOURNEY**

 **Volume Two: Who You Really Are**

 **Prologue**

* * *

 **Jordis Program Compound, 29th October, year 88 ABC (After the Battle of Calenhad).**

"Go, go, go!"

Three figures ran down a cold metallic corridor towards an exit, a host of robotic figures chasing after them clunkily, firing rifles as they went. One of the fleeing figures was a tall, blonde-haired man, a black cloak slung over his shoulders. Every so often he would turn, raising a large white shield to block incoming fire from their pursuers. The second was a woman with white hair, limping as she ran and carrying a metallic Dust rapier. The third was a woman with a red cloak, hood slung over her face and a gunmetal sword slung behind her back, carrying a small red bundle.

Ruby Rose hated running from a fight, but surely even she knew when to recognise that a fight was unwinnable. That, at least, was what the white-haired woman - Weiss Schnee - hoped. Ruby's red cloak fluttered behind her as she raced for the exit, an elevator that would take them to a secret escape route this compound's creators had installed.

"Keep going!" the black-cloaked man - Jaune Arc - yelled, falling back under fire as his shield kept taking the hits.

Weiss turned and raised her rapier. A series of glyphs appeared on the walls surrounding their pursuers, and from these a series of armoured figures carrying giant sword emerged, carving through the robots. A moment passed, and the armoured figures had finished their work, before dissipating.

Weiss breathed out, before slumping against the wall. Jaune turned to look at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I'm… I'm not good at this stuff anymore. Can't… can't keep up."

"We're almost out of here!" Ruby called back. "I've called the elevator!"

Weiss grimaced as she pushed off the wall, limping towards the elevator. Jaune stayed behind her, his shield still raised. She noted that his grip on the sword part of Crocea Mors wasn't perfect.

"Still not used to using that hand?" she asked.

"Is now the time?" he asked harshly.

Weiss grimaced. "Look, I know -"

The sound of footsteps from the other end of the corridor cut her off, and she looked to see a man in a black Atlesian military outfit walking towards them, a cloak slung behind him regally.

"Black," Jaune growled. "Ruby, problems!"

"Miss Schnee," the man - Soren Black - said calmly as he strode towards them. "Mr Arc. Miss Rose. This is futile. You have nowhere to go."

Weiss felt a sudden realisation hit her, even as the elevator pinged. "Jaune, help Ruby get out of here. I'll hold him off."

Jaune frowned. "You're kidding."

"We're not leaving you!" Ruby called back to her. "Weiss, the elevator's here, we can -"

"You can't," Weiss cut her off. "You need to get that baby out of here. I'll hold him back."

Jaune said nothing for a moment, and then fell back. "Ruby, into the elevator."

"We can't leave Weiss!" Ruby shouted.

"She's buying us time," Jaune said sternly. "Go!"

He turned back to look at Weiss, even as she settled into a guard stance as Black approached. She didn't bother looking back, instead focusing her energy into once more summoning a glyph. Another armoured figure appeared before Black, who drew a sword expertly and blocked the first heavy overhand the knight delivered. Weiss focused as hard as she could on maintaining the knight, knowing that once he went down she was doomed.

She risked a glance back at Jaune and Ruby. Jaune has pressed the button for the elevator to move, and the two of them looked at her.

"I'm sorry," Weiss said to Jaune.

He nodded curtly. "I know."

"Weiss," Ruby said despondently, and then the elevator doors closed.

Weiss closed her eyes and concentrated on the knight, but Black was only toying with the summoned construct, before carving it in half with a single strike.

Drained, Weiss fell to one knee. Holding up Myrtenaster, she tried to lash out, but he caught her wrist with ease, squeezing it until it cracked. Gasping in pain, Weiss let go of her sword and finally slumped back onto her knees.

"You gave your life for them," Black said calmly. "I can respect that. But it doesn't need to be this way." He knelt to be at eye level with her. "You know what I'm doing will benefit Atlas, benefit the world. Why don't you -"

She spat in his face. "Go burn in the hells, Soren."

Without any visible change of expression, Black stood. He let out a sigh.

"Jacques will be… disappointed," he said quietly. "But I can live with his disappointment."

And then he drew his blade and ran in through Weiss' chest. She gasped for breath, her eyes widening in horror, and then with a single motion he shoved her body backwards, before cleaning his blade with one gloves hand, staring at the blood idly.

"Regrettable," he said evenly. Weiss couldn't listen to hear if he said anything else. She felt the life leave her, her body going quite numb.

 _At least,_ she thought as she slipped away, _Ruby and Jaune got out…_

* * *

Outside the compound's secret exit, the two figures raced through the surrounding woods, heading towards their extraction - really just a getaway Bullhead they'd concealed. Ruby was crying, trying not to lose control, but…

 _Dammit, Weiss,_ she thought. _Not you, too._

On the Bullhead, which had fortunately not been discovered, Ruby sat down, still cradling the bundle she'd been carrying.

"It's amazing that she's not woken up," Jaune commented as he headed for the pilot's seat. "Any normal baby would've been screaming."

"Y-yeah," Ruby stammered, still struggling to cope with what they'd left behind. "But then… I guess she's not really a normal baby."

"Guess not," Jaune agreed. He set the Bullhead into motion, concentrating as he pulled up. "No sign of further pursuit. Guess they don't want to make a scene."

"Yeah," Ruby said quietly. She started gently rocking the infant in the bundle, who burbled slightly but made no other noise. "Do you think she's okay?"

Jaune inputted a command, setting the autopilot, before coming to check on them both. He opened the bundle slightly, and smiled at the little dark-haired baby within.

"I think she's fine," he said softly. "Seems to be enjoying the ride."

Ruby made a small 'heh' sound. "Yeah." Her expression grew somber. "So… what now?"

"We've got a long journey to decide that," Jaune said quietly. He wiggled his winger at the sleeping baby, making a small cooing noise, before sighing. "What do you want to call her?"

Ruby looked up at him. " _Call_ her?"

"Well, yeah," Jaune said. "She needs a better name than 'Subject Zero Zero One', doesn't she?"

Ruby looked down at her, before smiling softly. "How about, 'Jo'?"

"'Jo'?" Jaune repeated. He nodded slowly, mulling the idea over. "Yeah. 'Jo'. Why not?"

"Jo it is," Ruby said, smiling at the newly christened child. "Welcome to the rest of the world, Jo. You're gonna love it."

The baby - Jo - just made a small burbling noise in her sleep.

* * *

 **Author's Note: welcome to Journey Vol. 2: this story is a continuation of the events of Vol. 1, so anyone not familiar with those events may wish to read Vol. 1 first in order to get the full experience (and, obviously, to know who any of these OCs are).**

 **To those of you returning with questions from Vol.** **1, I can assure you that those questions will be answered very soon. And then, of course, the consequences of those answers will have to be dealt with…**

 **My especial thanks to everyone who followed and favourited the first volume, and to RoyalPsycho and MS Void, both of whom keep me honest and motivated.**

 **I hope you enjoy this. Cheers,**

 **Jed.**


	2. One: A Break

**One**

 **A Break**

* * *

 **Patch Island, 26th October, year 106 ABC (After the Battle of Calenhad).**

In the yard outside a beautiful old wooden house, a girl in a blue jumpsuit was punching the air like it was her worst enemy. Maybe it was. Or maybe it was something else she was imagining as she lashed out, jabs, crosses, hooks and haymakers flying.

She started kicking, knees and feet flying like a whirlwind of death as she spun and jumped through her exercises. All the while, her head was spinning more than she was.

 _Terminate target. Execute assault. Adjust strategy._

 _What are these thoughts? What do they mean, where do they come from?_

With a final jumping punch that ended with her crouched on the floor, breathing heavily and staring at the indent on the ground, the girl slumped backwards, taking a deep breath. Her black hair was sweated through, hanging almost over her face, and she lazily blew a strand from out of her eyes, before moving it with her hand. Her eyes were silver - a relatively recent development for her.

Up until recently, Jo Xiao Long had been… well, not exactly normal, she supposed. After all, most kids probably still knew who their families were, even if they'd never met them. And most kids didn't look almost exactly like Ruby Rose, the famed Huntress and Hero of the Fang Insurrection. Most kids didn't have their birth families treated like a big secret, even by _important_ people.

 _Most kids don't suddenly get silver eyes and thoughts about 'terminating' people,_ she thought with a bitter smile. _But hey, what else is new?_

She sighed, before lying back on the ground, wondering just what the future had in store for her.

A sudden trilling ring got her attention, and she frowned, before pulling her scroll from her pocket. An image of a beautiful red-headed girl with a cheeky smile appeared on her scroll, with the name 'Faye' underneath it. Jo felt a slight lurch in her stomach, like butterflies, and she smiled, before tapping the icon.

At once, the image was replaced by an actual video of Faye Arc, one of Jo's best friends at Beacon Academy.

" _Hey, you!"_ she said, waving. She had apparently set her scroll leaning against something. _"How's the break going?"_

Jo felt her smile widen. "Really well, actually. Really, really well. Got a lot of training time in. How's yours?"

" _Same, really,"_ Faye said, shrugging. _"Lots of practice time, sparring and stuff. Even got to see Mom yesterday, she came to visit Dad at Beacon. Think she's still around, but Dad says she needs to rest a lot."_

"Must be nice to see her," Jo commented. "I've enjoyed being around Dad."

Faye glanced around, almost furtively. _"Have you talked about… y'know, stuff?"_

'Stuff' being Jo's family background, whatever it was. Unlike most of their classmates, Faye knew something of Jo's struggles: Jo had chosen during the first half of term to confide in her, and the Two had both individually pursued the mystery of Jo's parentage.

Jo shook her head. "We haven't had the time. And… well, I keep expecting your dad to show up."

" _My dad?"_ Faye repeated. _"How come?"_

"One of the… one of the things Glynda told me was that your dad wanted to be here when Dad explained stuff," Jo said quietly.

Faye nodded slowly. _"Maybe that's where he's gone, then."_

Jo blinked. "Where he's gone?"

" _He's not at the school - said he had some personal business to attend to,"_ Faye explained. _"Maybe he's coming to yours?"_

"I… uh, yeah, maybe?" Jo said, shrugging. "I guess I'll find out, huh?"

" _Guess so,"_ Faye said with a shrug. _"He's been a bit grumpy anyway, these last few weeks. Because… y'know."_

Jo nodded sadly. Glynda Goodwitch had been assassinated by a hired killer a week before the school had broken up for their half term holidays. The shock of her death had reverberated through the entire school, and probably the whole of Vale given how important she was. But one of the consequences of her death was that Jaune Arc had been promoted to Acting Headmaster of Beacon, at least until the Council made a final decision concerning Glynda's replacement.

"I'd be more surprised if he _wasn't_ grumpy," Jo said. "Didn't you say the Council were being… y'know, a little bit douchey?"

" _Trust me, 'a little bit' is putting it mildly,"_ Faye said with a humourless chuckle. _"Way I see it, Dad's the obvious choice, but they're all like 'proper consideration must be made' blah, blah, blah."_

"Your Dad's the only _real_ choice they've got, though, isn't he?" Jo asked, frowning. "I mean, Mono or Hall aren't gonna get it. I guess Mono _could_ but -"

" _Dad's already said Mono won't,"_ Faye cut her off with a wry smirk. _"Guy's happy where he is."_

"Happy?"

" _Well,_ content _, anyway."_

"Content meaning…?"

" _For him? Less shouty."_

Jo nodded, suppressing a smirk. "Yeah, well, I hope your dad gets it."

" _Me, too,"_ Faye said, crossing her arms. _"I think he deserves it, at least, and at least we know him. If the Council gets some random Hunter we've never even heard of before to take over they might be a_ total _douchebag, and then we'll have nearly four years of absolute hell."_

Jo chuckled. "Nice to see you've not changed."

Faye didn't say anything, merely giving a softer, more melancholy smile.

"What's wrong?" Jo asked, noticing Faye's expression shift.

" _Nothing, really,"_ Faye said slowly. _"It's… I just… I dunno."_

Jo gave her a soft smile. "I'm here for you, y'know."

" _I know,"_ Faye said in return, and she gave a small smile. _"You've got no idea how much I appreciate that. It's nice having someone that isn't Mom or Dad or Augur to, y'know… talk to."_

"How is Augur, anyway?" Jo asked.

" _His usual boring self,"_ Faye said with a smirk. _"Nah, he's alright, as per usual. Been helping me get back into shape, whip a bit of the lethargy out of my muscles."_

"Can't imagine you being lethargic," Jo commented.

Faye snorted. _"Clearly I was pretty below par to get my ass so soundly handed to me."_

Jo's face fell. "Faye…"

" _Nah, it's cool,"_ Faye said, waving off Jo's concerns. She glanced at something out of the view of the screen. _"Hey, look, I'd better get going. Wanna get a bit more training in before I go get some rest."_

"Oh, okay," Jo said. "Talk tomorrow, maybe?"

Faye winked. _"You know it, hon."_

Jo giggled. "Was that one an accident, too?"

Faye blinked. _"Damn. Uh, anyway… see ya!"_

She closed off the call, and Jo blinked in surprise.

 _Did I say something wrong?_ she thought.

"Hey, Jo!" a voice came from the house. "Dinner's nearly ready! Get your ass in here!"

Jo sighed at her father's call. Taiyang was a good dad, insofar as caring and being kind and being responsible went, but _damn_ , did he have a potty mouth sometimes.

 _Then again, the girl I'm crushing on has a worse one,_ Jo thought absently as she got up. Before she could finish walking to her father's door, however, her mind caught up with what she had just thought. _Wait. The girl I'm_ crushing _on._

 _Shit._

* * *

 **Beacon Academy Training Grounds.**

Faye Arc moved like a machine - her limbs were pistons, pushing air like a heavy load as she swung Tower, her sword, through the air. Unusually for her, she had chosen to simply practice using just Tower, leaving her shield (named Guardian) propped against a wall.

She swung again and again, using a two-handed grip to add power to her moves, and all the while trying not to think of a certain smiling face giggling at her faux pa.

 _You're not crushing,_ she told herself. _You are_ not _crushing._ She swung her sword again, a rush of air battering a nearby tree. _Stop. Stop now._ Another swing, another rush of air. _Right now!_

 _A smiling face. "Was that one an accident, too?"_

With a final yell, she swung her sword and one of the smaller trees simply ceased to be, exploding in a shower of bark and leaves.

"Now," a familiar voice said, laughing softly, "I'm sure that poor tree didn't deserve that."

Faye relaxed, turning to face the speaker. "Sorry, Mom."

Dressed in light training gear and carrying her spear, her shield slung over her shoulder, Pyrrha Nikos-Arc hardly looked that much older than Faye herself. Her long red hair was tied up in a ponytail, revealing her heart-shaped face and green eyes.

"So," she said, planting her spear in the ground. "Any particular reason you're bullying the poor trees? Did a tree smack you in the face?" She crossed her arms, grinning. "Or _maybe_ you've finally found a site on the net that revealed the truth about our arboreal overlords."

"Oh no!" Faye said in mock-horror. "Augur's bow is called Arbor Alba - he's in league with the trees!"

"We all are!" Pyrrha said with a crazy-sounding cackle. "And now that you know the secret," she added, plucking her spear out of the ground, "we cannot allow you to live!"

Faye smirked. "Come on then, Mom. Let's see if the old lady knows some tricks."

Pyrrha stuck her tongue out. "I'll have you know, young lady, that I can still duel with the best of them."

"Pretty tough talk from someone who does glorified _yoga,_ " Faye jibed.

"Pretty tough talk from someone who uses _that_ sword," Pyrrha retorted.

Faye narrowed her eyes with a darkly amused chuckle. "Oh, you've gone and done it now, Mom."

She dashed forward, swinging her sword at Pyrrha, who flipped her shield and blocked the blow with ease.

"Sure you don't want your shield for this?" Pyrrha asked with a wry smile.

"What makes you think I'll need it?" Faye asked, spinning and lashing out with her sword again.

In response, Pyrrha blocked the blow with her shield, before spinning and clipping Faye round the head with her spear. Stunned, Faye stumbled backwards, and then Pyrrha bashed her in the face, knocking her to the floor.

"You were saying?" she asked, planting the spear again.

Faye scowled, getting to her feet. "Come on, let's do it properly this time."

Pyrrha held up a hand. "No. At least, not until we talk about that fight."

"What do we need to talk about?" Faye asked. "I was stupid, didn't think before I attacked, and I got my ass handed to me."

"Uh huh," Pyrrha said slowly. "And which fight are we talking about?"

Faye paused, her scowl softening. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Pyrrha sighed, before sitting down in one of her meditative poses, motioning for Faye to join her. She did so, still frowning in confusion.

"Be honest with me, Faye," Pyrrha said quietly. "What's been bothering you? Your father says you've been out here for the entire holiday. Your brother says you hardly speak to him."

Faye sighed. "I… look, I just feel like I need to be better. Y'know?"

"Because of the assassin," Pyrrha said. It wasn't a question.

"He… he just took me out so _quickly,_ Mom," Faye whispered. "Like I was nothing."

Pyrrha frowned. "He took out fully trained Huntsmen, too."

"Would he have taken _you_ out?" Faye asked.

Pyrrha sucked in a breath. "I don't know. I've never fought him. Perhaps he would have. Perhaps not."

Faye made a dismissive sound. "Yeah, The Invincible Girl would totes have been taken out by a creep like him."

Pyrrha's eyes widened in surprise. "I haven't been called that in a _very_ long time."

"It's true, though," Faye said quietly. "They said you could beat anyone when you were my age."

Pyrrha sighed. "Mostly because I fought other people in my age group. I never fought adult Hunters. It was a nickname I didn't deserve."

"Bullshit, Mom," Faye snapped.

Pyrrha scowled. "Faye."

"No, seriously," Faye said. "I know enough history and there's enough stuff on the net to tell me what you did in the war. You were a prisoner for a year or more. Then after you got out, you got fighting fit super-quick. You fought in Vale - on the wall even! And all that with that heart condition you developed, too!" She stopped her tirade, before looking away from her mother. "You did all that. And I'm so pathetic that I can't even help take down a criminal one of my _classmates_ took down."

Pyrrha sighed. "Faye… it was _Jo_ who took that assassin down. And with respect, Jo isn't normal."

Faye gave a derisive snort. "I know that Jo _isn't normal_ , the way everyone treats her makes that pretty obvious to everyone but a blind idiot." Her expression softened. "She's… I dunno. There's something about her."

Pyrrha frowned, before giving a wry smirk. "Is there, now?"

Faye scowled again. "Shut up."

Pyrrha chuckled. "No, do tell."

"I said _shut up_ ," Faye insisted. "This is not a 'Faye/Mom Conversation'."

"I could ask Augur if he knows?" Pyrrha suggested with a raised eyebrow.

"You could, and then I could beat him to a bloody pulp if he breathes a _word_ ," Faye said. "Anyway, we weren't talking about Jo."

"No, we were talking about you wanting to prove yourself," Pyrrha agreed with a more serious expression. "Something you have a _very_ long time to do. You're not me - you don't have the lifestyle I had, nor the responsibilities, nor the Semblance, nor the burdens. None of it. Some of that is an accident of birth, but most of it is because your father and I wanted you and Augur to grow up without the things that nearly destroyed us both."

"Like what?" Faye asked.

"Like being expected to be perfect," Pyrrha said. "Like being considered invincible. Like people believing I was somehow the best of the best. Or in your father's case, without the isolation that led to him not…" She trailed off. "My point is, you and Augur have everything you need to live balanced lives, and you have four years, more or less, to grow into the Hunters I know you're both capable of becoming."

"But I need to be better _now_ ," Faye said. "I don't want to just get knocked around when people are in danger. I want to _help_. I don't want to be lying bleeding on the floor next time Jo decides to unleash her inner weird beat-up-the-bad-guys fu."

"'Beat-up-the-bad-guys fu'?" Pyrrha repeated.

Faye shrugged. "Augur's the poet."

Pyrrha chuckled. "My sweet child. I promise, you will grow stronger. You're already better than you were. But you must rest, let yourself grow at a natural pace. Forcing yourself will only lead you to burnout, and you _really_ don't want that."

Faye sighed, unhappy with her mother's assessment but hardly willing to argue over it. "Alright. Whatever you say, Mom."

"That's your teenage code for 'shut up about things I don't want to talk about anymore', right?" Pyrrha asked with a chuckle. "Alright. So - Jo. Want to talk more about her?"

Faye groaned.

* * *

 **Patch Island.**

Jo's dad was looking at her with concern. Taiyang Xiao Long - dressed in easy-going shirt and shorts, his greying blonde hair and beard messy as all heck - was normally pretty easy going, but Jo could tell that he was scrutinising her thoroughly.

"What?" she asked, frowning at him. "Is there something on my face?"

Taiyang chuckled. "Yeah, deep thoughts."

"Uh huh, and what do _they_ look like?" Jo asked with a snort.

"A permanent constipated grimace," Taiyang replied at once.

Jo paused, Taiyang smirked, and then the both of them started howling with laughter. Jo, gasping for breath, grabbed a glass of water and gulped it down, before giggling a little more.

"Seriously, though," Taiyang added, his expression sobering. "You look like you're thinking deep thoughts."

"Probably am," Jo said quietly.

Taiyang sighed. "If this is about my promise, I'm waiting for Professor Arc to -"

"I know," Jo said at once. "I'm okay with the extra wait, honestly. I get that Professor Arc's probably busy."

"Well, he's coming today," Taiyang said. "Should be here in the next couple of hours, actually."

"Good," Jo said quietly, not mentioning that she already knew.

"So," Taiyang said. "If you're not worrying about that, what's got you looking constipated?"

Jo rolled her eyes. "Way to demean my deep thoughts, Dad."

"Joking aside."

Jo sighed. "I… ugh." Did she really want to tell him? "This is… kinda embarrassing."

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to," Taiyang said, holding up a hand. "I just thought… if stuff's bothering you -"

"Dad," Jo said, cutting him off, "how do you tell if a girl likes you?"

Taiyang's entire train of thought didn't stop, so much as it crashed, smashed and exploded. His mouth hung open in shock, and his eyes widened.

"A… what?" he asked.

"You heard what I said," Jo told him, feeling more self-conscious than ever.

"Yeah, I just…" Taiyang seemed to be struggling for words. "I guess it's just more of a 'normal' thing than I was expecting."

Jo blushed. "Dad."

"Sorry," Taiyang said. "Should've realised you'd have hit this eventually. Surprised you haven't had it happen before."

Jo didn't say anything for a moment, but she felt more embarrassed than ever.

"Look," she said, "can we just… can we just pretend that I'm normal and that this is actually important? Because it feels important to me."

Taiyang's amusement fell away, and he suddenly looked shamefaced. "Oh. Damn, I'm sorry, Jo. I didn't mean to… I'm sorry." He composed himself. "So… uh, who's the girl?"

Jo rolled her eyes. "Does it matter?"

"Always," Taiyang said with an amused chuckle. "Besides, if you're gonna be asking someone out, I wanna make sure they're good enough for my little girl."

"Isn't that for me to decide?" Jo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Can't I be protective?" Taiyang asked.

"Well, you could _try_ ," Jo said, "but I think that ship sailed with the crazy assassin guy."

Taiyang's expression soured. "Don't remind me." He sighed. "You think this mystery girl likes you?"

"I don't know," Jo said quietly. "I mean, I think… it kinda feels like she's flirting. But…"

"But?"

Jo sighed. "She's always really confident. Maybe she's just naturally flirty."

"Does she flirt with other people?" Taiyang asked.

Jo paused, thinking it over. "I… have no idea."

Taiyang chuckled. "Well, if I had to give any advice - and having gotten lucky with my whole team in the day, I think I'm qualified…"

Jo made a gagging sound.

"Do you want advice or not?" Taiyang asked.

"Advice, not bad mental images," Jo said, sticking her tongue out.

Taiyang huffed jokingly. "Well, all I can say is -"

A sharp knocking at the door distracted them both. Jo turned in her chair, and Taiyang stood up.

"One moment," he said. He headed to the door, opening it, and a figure in a black cloak stepped in. A moment later the figure pulled their hood down, revealing blonde hair, a scraggly beard and a single blue eye, the other eye covered by a patch.

"Professor Arc," Jo said, unsurprised.

"Jo," Jaune Arc said quietly, looking between her and Taiyang. "Tai. Sorry I'm late."

"No worries," Taiyang said quietly.

Jaune looked at Jo. "Jo. I think it's time you, me and your Dad had a talk."


	3. Two: Jordis 001

**Two**

 **Jordis 001**

* * *

 **Patch Island, 26th October, year 106 ABC (After the Battle of Calenhad).**

Jaune Arc moved to sit opposite Jo, next to where Taiyang had been sitting. His movements were a little awkward, and this close up Jo realised that he had a little bit of a limp. She could hear the faint whirring of his prosthetic leg as he walked. As he sat down, he thumped it with his gloved hand, a loud metallic clang echoing. A moment passed, and then the whirring changed in pitch. Arc nodded in satisfaction.

"It's not in the best of moods with me," he said, noticing Jo staring. She looked away, saying nothing.

"You want a drink, Jaune?" Taiyang asked.

"No, I'm fine," Arc said quietly. He paused, considering. "Actually, given how much talking we're probably about to do, a water would be great."

"Can do," Taiyang said quietly. "Jo?"

Jo shook her head. She didn't really know what to say - Jaune Arc was still one of her teachers, and having him here was…

 _Weird._

Taiyang headed for the kitchen, mumbling something to himself. Jo found herself wondering just how he felt about all of this. Whether he was happy, or angry, or…

"I suppose before we start," Arc said, looking a little awkward, "I have to ask how you wanna hear this. I mean, do you want to ask questions, or…"

"I think," Jo cut him off, speaking quietly, "I'd like you to tell me everything, from the start." She looked to Taiyang, who returned carrying water. "Both of you."

Taiyang sighed. "I hate to admit it, but Jaune knows more details."

"He's not the one who promised me," Jo pointed out.

Taiyang nodded. "That's very true." He sighed. "Where to begin…"

"The night of the 5th of November?" Arc suggested.

"Ah, yeah," Taiyang chuckled. "That would be it."

"My birthday?" Jo asked.

"Not really your birthday," Taiyang said quietly. "That was the night that Jaune woke me up, carrying a baby swaddled in a red Atlesian cape."

Jo's eyes widened, and she turned to Jaune. "So you _were_ the one who brought me."

"Me and Ruby Rose," Arc said with a small nod. "We both retrieved you from Atlas."

"Atlas…" Jo repeated. She looked at Taiyang. "Who are my real family?"

Taiyang exchanged a weary glance with Arc, before sighing heavily.

"Technically," he began, "you and I _are_ related. And you and Jaune. And you and every member of teams RWBY and JNPR."

Jo blinked. "What."

Arc leant forward in his chair. "To explain what happened, we have to go back to the end of the Fang Insurrection, or as the Atlesians called it, the Fang War." He sighed. "It was… pretty chaotic. All the kingdoms had suffered major attacks, and everyone was paranoid. It changed who we all were as a society."

"Into that already volatile mix," Taiyang added, "throw the massive amount of damage and loss that the kingdoms had all sustained."

"Not to mention the failure of the Polendina Android Program," Arc said quietly.

"The what?" Jo asked.

Arc shook his head. "Another time. The point was, the kingdoms had faced the biggest threat ever, and Atlas was racing to find a way to reassure everyone."

"At the time, Atlas was being run by General James Ironwood," Taiyang said quietly. "Who was a… well, a good man, but a man who was big on technology providing solutions to problems."

"But Atlas is a lot less unified than most people outside the kingdom know," Arc added quietly. "The Dukes, Lords, Earls and Barons all hold a lot of power individually, and they squabble and debate more than they care to admit for a country that prides itself on action." He sighed. "Ironwood…"

"Ironwood wasn't making big enough strides for all of them," Taiyang put in. "One man, a very clever and influential Baron named Soren Black, had fought alongside us during the Insurrection. But like a lot of Atlesians, he calls it the War. And he was convinced that the next one was closer than anybody wanted to admit."

"He wasn't too far off the truth, either," Arc muttered. Taiyang threw him a dirty look and he shrugged.

"The point," Taiyang continued, "was that the Polendina program had failed. Their one prototype was destroyed, and had gotten pretty badly mangled to boot: not much to salvage, and difficult to replace." He leant back in his chair. "The way Soren figured it out, part of the problem was that, no matter how great a machine was, it couldn't match the adaptability, resourcefulness and cunning of a fully organic person."

"He wasn't alone in thinking that, either," Arc added quietly. "Around about that time, Atlas was full of projects designed to turn ordinary Huntsmen and Huntresses into - well, _more_. Project Aesir, Project Asmodeus, Project Blacksun, Project Redfire…"

"But the Jordis Program was Soren Black's biggest triumph," Taiyang said, cutting Jaune off.

Jo's eyes widened. Something about the name 'Jordis' seemed to resonate through her, like a memory long forgotten. Arc and Taiyang exchanged a glance, clearly noticing her reaction.

"What was the Jordis Program?" Jo asked quietly.

Arc sighed. "The Jordis Program was an attempt to capture the things that made key figures in the Insurrection as potent as they were, and to replicate those things en masse."

Jo frowned. "I… what?"

"In layman's terms," Taiyang put in, "teams RWBY and JNPR were some of the most influential people of the war effort. All eight members of the teams were pivotal members of the battles at Haven, Vacuo and the Wall." His expression soured. "He thought there might be something genetic to their skills."

"And even if there wasn't," Arc added. "He figured that we were probably some of the best genetic stock for his prototypes."

"He… he cloned them?" Jo asked. "I'm a clone?"

"Oh, no," Arc said, grimacing. "He did far more than just clone us." He sighed. "Thanks to various battles, plus various medical exams, Soren was able to create a complete genetic map of every single member of teams RWBY and JNPR. From that, he selected the best genes. Strength. Stamina. Agility. Physical appearance wasn't nearly as important as finding qualities that would create superb warriors for field action."

"And to add to that, he threw in a little of his own genome," Taiyang added with a sour expression. "Specifically, he identified the combination of genes that gave him his own Semblance and added them to the mix, ensuring every subject would have his Semblance."

Jo swallowed. "I don't understand… what… what does that make me?"

Arc sighed. "What that makes you is the first of eight prototypes. Custom-constructed with a genetic blueprint designed to provide the maximum potential as warriors. _You_ were based on Ruby Rose's basic physical parameters. There was one loose copy of every member of both teams. Me, Blake Belladonna, Nora Valkyrie… all of us."

"When Jaune explained all this to me, I didn't know what to think," Taiyang said quietly. "You… seemed normal. A little quieter than most kids at first, but you grew out of that. But you're strong, kiddo. Your Aura was unlocked from the moment you were a child, and you've got a lot of it."

"And your strength, your tactile telekinesis - that's Soren Black's Semblance," Arc added.

Jo sat back, unsure what to make of what she was being told. She was… she wasn't even a clone. She was…

 _I'm a freak,_ she thought. She blinked when she realised that she'd said it out loud.

"You're not," Taiyang said. "You're a girl. A normal girl, with maybe a little more -"

"I'm not, though, am I?" Jo cut him off, speaking quietly. "When I… when I beat that assassin, I was…"

She trailed off, uncertain how to phrase it.

"There's a lot about the Jordis Program we don't know," Arc said quietly. "Actually, a heck of a lot. When me and Ruby escaped, we couldn't risk going to the authorities to get him shut down. Soren's experiments were… unpleasant, but from a legal standpoint they had to have been authorised somehow, even if only on his personal authority."

Jo looked down at her hands. _Freak. Some test-tube baby they put together in a lab._

"Why?" she asked quietly.

Arc and Taiyang exchanged a glance.

"Why what?" Taiyang asked quietly.

"Why did you take me out of there?" Jo asked, looking up at Arc. "I mean… what made you…"

Arc sighed. "It was… complicated."

He stood, his artificial leg whirring as he did so, and he turned around, sighing.

"It was Weiss' idea to go there," he said after a moment. "Or rather, we were acting on her intel." He turned to look at Jo. "As far as she knew, her father was working with General Soren Black on some sort of project, but she didn't know the details. So we infiltrated the compound."

He took a breath, and Jo could see that the memories were not pleasant for him.

"There were eight cribs," he said quietly, "and each one had a little baby in them, in a little colour-coded swaddle. We didn't know… we didn't know how to react, what to think. And then the alarm went off." He smiled. "Ruby grabbed you, carried you back with us all the way to the Bullhead." His expression soured. "But we left Weiss behind. She held off Black himself. After that, the news came out that she'd died 'in an accident'. Bullshit."

"Jaune," Taiyang said quietly.

"Sorry," Arc said quietly. "It's just… it was my fault. I should have been better at protecting them both."

"It was a long time ago, Jaune," Taiyang said quietly. "Let it go."

Arc sighed. "We didn't know what to do. Ruby was the one who suggested bringing you here."

"She must have thought her old dad was lonely," Taiyang said with a dry chuckle, but Jo could hear the undertone. "Nice of her to think about it, I guess."

Arc said nothing, but his expression was hardly the most cheery.

"So," he said after moment. "I'm assuming you have questions."

Jo swallowed. Where to start? What to think, what to do…

"I hear… no," she said, before stopping. "When I get angry, or I'm fighting something dangerous, I start… having thoughts. Like… like… 'terminate target with extreme prejudice'."

Jaune And Taiyang exchanged a glance, and Arc was frowning.

"Possibly some sort of inbuilt programming," he said quietly. "If they can put things like Semblances into genetic code, they can put almost anything there. It might even be subliminal, from when you were a baby in their facility."

Jo nodded slowly. "So… I was grown in a tube, right? I don't… I mean, I don't have real parents."

"We don't know," Arc said with a sad smile. "We don't know whether anyone gave birth to you, or whether you were… 'just grown in a tube'."

"And I'm… like a big mess of all your DNA?" Jo asked hesitantly, uncertain how to put it.

Arc coughed. "Not exactly. I think the way Black did it was, he had each of you mainly based on a single member of the team. There's one for each of us: a Jaune, a Nora, a Blake, a Weiss. And you were the 'Ruby': most of your… I guess, the basics of you, like your hair or your face, came from her."

Jo nodded, feeling a twinge of something behind her eyes. "But the rest of me is a mess."

Arc sighed. "The rest of you is a selection of strong traits - stamina, agility - cribbed from the DNA of the other members of the two teams. You mustn't think of yourself as a 'mess'."

"Then what am I?" Jo asked, and suddenly a tear dripped down her cheek. "I… I'm a _thing_. A monster that some guy made in a lab. What am I even here to be? What _am_ I?!"

Arc's expression floundered between concern and upset, like he wasn't sure what to do. Taiyang, though, leant forward, placing a hand on Jo's wrist.

"Hey," he said quietly. " _Hey_."

Jo sniffed, before meeting his eyes. Taiyang smiled at her.

"What do you _want_ to be?" he asked her.

"I… what?" Jo said, frowning in confusion.

"It's not a trick question," Taiyang said with a smile. "What do you, Jo Xiao Long, _want_ to be?"

Jo looked away for a moment. "I don't… I… don't know."

"Shall I tell you what I think?" Taiyang asked. "I think, when you saved people on that train, you woke something up. Something inside you that said, 'this is what I'm meant to be'." His smile widened. "It doesn't matter where you came from. What matters is what you choose to become. Trust me, I know." His expression softened, becoming almost melancholic. "Raven and Qrow from my team: they were twins, but they made totally different choices. Qrow chose to stand by us for the whole Fang Insurrection. Raven abandoned us, and only chose to help when it suited her. They made _their_ choices."

Jo looked down at her hands again. "But they… I was made to be a weapon."

"But you chose to become a Huntress," Taiyang said. "Huntresses and Huntsmen aren't weapons. They're the line defending our kingdoms from disaster."

"And you're more than a weapon," Arc added quietly. "The Jordis Program… it was a travesty, shady as all the hells and legally questionable… but Black made it for the same reason Ironwood sponsored the Polendina Project. He wanted to make warriors who would save the world."

Jo laughed aloud. "I can't save the world."

"Maybe not yet," Arc said, his expression deadly serious, "but all children grow up. And as much as I'd like to say otherwise, peace doesn't last."

"Jaune," Taiyang said, his tone and expression equally unhappy.

"No, Tai," Arc said, holding up a hand. "The world isn't at peace. Glynda's assassination proves it. As much as I hate thinking about it, they're the ones who will fight the next war."

"Your kids, too?" Taiyang asked archly. Arc said nothing, but his expression was equal parts cold and resigned, and Taiyang's own faltered. "Gods, Jaune."

Jo coughed, and the two men looked at her.

"Look," she said, "this is… I don't… I don't know what's coming, but I… this… I…"

She suddenly felt her chest seizing up, like she was in the middle of a panic attack. She stood up fast enough to knock her chair over, prompting cries of alarm from both men, and she quickly dashed out of the front door.

* * *

" _Coming up on target zone, prepare for insertion."_

"Understood."

She was ready. She flexed her gauntleted fists, feeling power crackling along them. Little arcs of energy shot between joints, and she felt the ghost of a smile at the tips of her mouth. Soon, she would retrieve the target, her sister, and they would be whole again.

 _Sister,_ she thought, and her face broke into a real smile. _Oh, it's going to be so good when we're finally together. I've waited so long._

None of the others understood. Not really. They weren't incomplete in the same way she was. Weren't missing something that made them who they were the same way she was.

 _But soon I won't be missing that part of me anymore._ She took a deep breath. _Soon, we will be complete._

* * *

The grass was soft, and she was kneeling, tears dripping from the end of her nose as she struggled to contain the mixed feelings of fear, horror and sadness that threatened to overwhelm her.

"Jo?" Taiyang's voice said quietly from behind her. "Jo, are you okay?"

Stupid question. How could she be 'okay'? She was a freak, a monster, some _thing_ that some crazy bastard had made in a lab out of some twisted idea of saving the world. She was a genetic doll, probably chock-full of programming. The thoughts she had, the cold, cruel thoughts about terminating targets and adjusting strategy…

 _That's what I'm meant to be,_ she thought, letting out a sudden wall of despair. _I'm a weapon. A tool. I was made to kill things, and nothing else._

She felt Taiyang's hand sitting on her shoulder, awkward. "Jo. I'm here for you."

She didn't respond. Didn't even move. She just stayed, slumped on the floor, not even sure what she was thinking.

How could he be here for her? She wasn't his daughter, she wasn't _anyone's_ daughter. She was nothing more than some subject from some project.

Then she frowned, her tears subsiding as she heard a slow rumble, like an engine. She looked up, as an airship - no, an old Bullhead - flew over the old house, before holding a position about forty feet right above Jo. A single figure stepped out from the side of the Bullhead, and landed deftly right in front of Jo, before standing up and looking down at her.

Jo stood up, scrambling backwards in surprise. The figure was wearing a sturdy bodysuit, a pair of silver gauntlets on her hands extending from the tips of her fingers to her elbows. Her hair was long, wild and stark silver-white, and her eyes were a cold blue that looked down at Jo with disinterest.

"Jordis Zero Zero One," she said, her voice a cool monotone. She held one hand out, almost beckoning. "Come with me."


	4. Three: Jordis 008

**Three**

 **Jordis 008**

* * *

 **Patch Island, 26th October, year 106 ABC (After the Battle of Calenhad).**

Jo stepped back, looking at the proffered hand with a mixture of confusion and suspicion. Who _was_ this girl? And why did she call her…

… _Jordis 001._

The figure didn't move, though her expression became slightly quizzical.

"Jordis Zero Zero One," she said again, speaking slightly slower. "Come with me." She blinked, apparently confused. "Please?"

"I…" Jo said, shaking her head almost instinctively. "Who are you?"

The hand dropped. "Jordis Zero Zero Eight. Retrieval op."

Taiyang stepped in front of Jo. "She is _not_ coming with you."

The girl - Jordis 008 - glanced at Taiyang, before looking back at Jo. "This is a directive from command. Jordis Zero Zero One, return to base. Come with me, now."

Jo stepped back from her, shaking her head and uncertain what to even think. What… _who_ … was this girl? Was she…

… was she another one? One of the Jordis subjects?

' _...eight cribs, and each one had a little baby in them, in a little colour-coded swaddle…'_

Jo found herself looking at the girl in mixed awe, horror, and contemplation. _Are you what I was made to be?_

"I said, she's not coming with you," Taiyang repeated, taking a fighting stance and shaking Jo from her thoughts.

The girl - Jordis 008 - looked at him again, this time focusing on him with an expression not unlike a person studying a gnat.

"Taiyang Xiao Long, brawler, born Mistral, 39 After Battle of Calenhad," she said blandly, cracking her knuckles. She stepped back, before settling into a pose that mimicked his perfectly. "Stand down."

"No," Taiyang said, growling and tensing himself, ready to fight.

"Tai?" came Professor Arc's voice from behind them.

Jordis 008 seemed to tense, stepping backward and looking between Taiyang and Arc, who drew his sword and extended it to its full length, eye widening in horror when he saw her.

"You're one of the first Jordis subjects," he said to her quietly. "Aren't you?"

Jordis 008 didn't say anything, instead adjusting her stance. She looked at Jo again.

"Come with me," she asked again. "This is a directive from command."

Jo shook her head again, still struggling to process this. _I… I can't go with her. I'm not..._

Jordis 008 looked confused. "Why?"

"You heard her," Taiyang said, growling the words. "She said no."

Jordis 008 looked at him. "This is a directive. From _command._ "

Her tone made it sound like this was no less than a command from the Gods themselves. Jo found herself feeling even more confused, uncertain what she should do or think.

Taiyang didn't seem uncertain, his stance not shifting. "You. Are. _Not_. Taking. Her."

Jordis 008 tilted her head. "Challenge accepted."

And suddenly, she dashed forward, her fist slamming through Taiyang's guard and forcing him to stumble backwards. She followed this up with a kick, but he caught it with a grimace and spun her. She landed on her hands and flipped back to face him in an instant, before charging again, throwing a series of punches that he barely blocked.

Arc charged forward, swinging his sword at her, but all she did was block the blow with her gauntlets. She glanced at him.

"Jaune Arc, Acting Headmaster, Beacon Academy," she said, not changing her tone. "Born Sanus, 63 After Battle of Calenhad. Hero of the Wall."

She blocked another two strikes with ease, not even fazed when Taiyang charged at her again. She dodged a sweeping sword-strike designed to take her head off, only for Taiyang to punch her across the face. She followed the momentum of the punch and spun around a full circuit, spinning and kicking him in the head, sending him sprawling to the floor.

Smirking, she turned to face Arc, only for him to bring his sword down, trying to split her in two. She brought her gauntlets up in an 'X' shape, catching the blade, before grabbing it with one hand, yanking it from Arc's hands and backhanding him, tossing the sword away as she did so. Undaunted, he swung back and headbutted her, only for her to headbutt him in return. He stumbled back, and she followed this up with a haymaker, only for his arm to come up and block her strike, the metal of her gauntlet clanging against his arm.

"You won't take one of my students," he said in a low growl.

008 simply tilted her head, before stepping back and raising her gauntlets. Before Arc could react, chained lightning shot out, smashing into him and throwing him backwards. He hit a wall and groaned, electricity racing around his body briefly before he slumped, his Aura shimmering around him.

008 turned to Taiyang, who was still standing in front of Jo. He was smirking at her, his expression dangerous.

"Funny," he said to her. "If it weren't for the white hair, you'd look exactly like Yang. You even fight like her."

008 cracked her knuckles again, before charging. She threw a series of punches, but this time Taiyang blocked them all. Suddenly, after blocking a particularly brutal-looking haymaker, he shoved her arm out of the way, punched her in the chest, stumbling her, and followed with a spin-kick that sent her flying backwards.

She crashed into a tree and fell to the floor. She immediately stood up, her expression not changing, but there was a renewed purpose to her steps as she settled into a fighting stance.

"I taught Yang pretty much everything she knew," Taiyang said blandly, once more standing in front of Jo. "And I was a member of the best team in Beacon's history. You won't get past me so easily."

008 charged forward and threw a few experimental punches, but he managed to block them, too. Frowning, 008 changed up, charging her gauntlets with electricity, but Taiyang simply dodged the first two swings, before grabbing her arm at the elbow and redirecting her next strike into the ground, where it caused a shockwave that blasted both combatants backwards. She backflipped and quickly recovered, while he skidded backwards, reorienting himself quickly enough to return to a guard stance in front of Jo.

008, still on guard herself, looked past him, her eyes focusing on Jo.

"Jordis Zero Zero One," she said once more. "Come with me. This is a -"

"I heard you before," Jo said quietly. "And I said no."

"You heard her," Taiyang growled, "it's not going to happen. Piss off."

Jordis 008's expression shifted once more to confusion, before her eyebrows twitched, her brow furrowed, and she looked… sad?

"Please?" she asked again.

Jo shook her head, but now she felt a twinge of… _emptiness._ This girl… she wanted Jo to go with her, not just because she'd been ordered to, but for something else.

"No," she said quietly.

The girl's expression didn't shift, but she nodded once. She held a finger to her ear.

"Jordis Zero Zero Eight to Retrieval. Mission aborted." She lowered her hand, still looking at Jo, and now there was a definite expression of sadness. "Goodbye."

The Bullhead that had dropped her off returned, lowering a rope, and she grabbed it, giving Jo a final, almost forlorn look, before she was hoisted up. With a final roar of its engines, the Bullhead left.

Jo blinked, eyes wide. "She… she left? She's gone?"

Taiyang scowled. "You not wanting to go with her might not have been in her mission parameters. That's a lucky break on our part."

Jo simply slumped to the floor, her brain overwhelmed. Only one thought could coherently come through.

 _They know where I am, what I look like, where I live. That means they also know where I go to school._

"They'll come back," she whispered. "She will. Won't she?"

Taiyang looked at Arc, who was pulling himself to his feet, clutching at his artificial arm with a grimace.

None of them knew what to say.

* * *

Eight looked out over the landscape of Patch as the Bullhead flew, not really taking any of it in.

"You didn't retrieve the target," the pilot pointed out to her. "Won't they be mad at you?"

' _I heard you before. And I said no.'_

She hadn't wanted to come. Two, Four, Father, they'd all said that once Eight found One, One would come back. It was what was meant to be, it was what was supposed to happen.

"I need to speak to command," she said to the pilot.

"Got it," the pilot replied. "Connection should be secure from the back com terminal."

"Thank you."

Eight moved to the terminal at once, bringing the display up. After a few moments of static, a bland robotic voice spoke.

" _Report."_

"Jordis Zero Zero Eight reporting. Retrieval mission aborted."

There was a pause before the voice replied. _"Hold for Director."_

Eight nodded. The Director - their Father - would of course take an immediate interest in her abject failure.

" _Eight,"_ his voice came after a moment. _"Explain to me why the mission was aborted."_

"Jordis Zero Zero One was uncooperative," Eight said coolly. "And Taiyang Xiao Long and Jaune Arc were both present and attempted to prevent retrieval. Between these factors, I used initiative and decided that the mission could not be completed with unacceptable damage to One or to myself."

There was a pause, as Father no doubt considered this information. _"Jordis One's uncooperativeness was to be expected, and the presence of her apparent guardian with it. Jaune Arc's presence is perhaps less predictable, but still."_ He paused again, and Eight tensed. _"You didn't want to hurt her."_

"That is correct," she said quietly.

" _I understand, Eight,"_ the voice of Father said tiredly. _"But I'm afraid there is no way we can do this that will_ not _hurt her, not after all this time."_ There was another pause. _"We will regroup, and plan a new incursion. This time, I will not send you alone. That way, any resistance you encounter can be dealt with more effectively."_

"I understand," she said quietly.

" _Signing off,"_ Father said.

She stood up and moved to the Bullhead's makeshift cot, lying down at once.

 _I will find you,_ she thought quietly to One. _I will find you, Sister. And I will bring you home._

* * *

 **Beacon Academy, 26th October.**

When she had finally finished getting her mother to stop trying to embarrass her, Faye went to her room - or rather, Team FATE's room. To no one's great surprise, her twin brother Augur was already there, tapping away at a keytar thoughtfully, small synthesiser notes beeping and booping out. He sighed as she entered.

"Hey there, Sis," he said.

"'Gur," she greeted. She smirked at the keytar. "Not quite ready to take the charts by storm?"

"Hey, you might enjoy _just_ hitting things, but I happen to think there's always a place for a troubadour soldier," her brother said with a smirk, sticking his tongue out at her. He tapped the keytar again, before humming a few notes. "#And all the choirs of heaven sang but all the bells still rang…"

"What song's that, then?" Faye asked, crossing her arms.

"Hm?" Augur asked, looking up. "Oh, I'm trying to write a song about a knight who lost his greatest love, but it's not working."

Faye raised his eyebrow. "Don't you ever sing _happy_ songs?"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Augur asked with a frown.

"Well," Faye said, listing off with her fingers, "there's the one about the noble hero who held the pass and didn't surrender until he got carved up by Beowolves, the one about Darry's Ten and the hill of Calenhad…"

Augur rolled his eyes. "You never heard the one about the ice queen of Mantle."

"Lemme guess, she doesn't fall in love with the guy," Faye said scathingly. She flopped onto her bed.

"Uh…" Augur said, before shrugging. "Well, anyway, it's all works in progress, y'know?"

Faye sighed, but didn't say anything. Augur frowns at her.

"What's up with you?" he asked. "Mom kick your ass?"

"Yes," Faye said curtly. "But it isn't just that."

Augur sat on a chair near her bed. "C'mon, Sis. Tell Dr Augur Arc all about it."

Faye threw a bemused glance his way. "Seriously?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't want to talk about it."

Augur made a thoughtful 'hmmm' sound. "It couldn't possibly be anything to do with a certain young dark haired girl?"

Faye gave him the finger, and he started chuckling.

"Awesome," he said. "You finally got your head out of the sand on that one?"

Faye scowled at him. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

Augur held up his hands. "Nothing bad. I'm just glad you've actually decided you're not just crushing."

Faye made a soft 'hmph' sound. "You're a dick."

"I'm also your twin," Augur said knowingly. "I've figured for a little while that your thing for Jo was more than just little crush. You're too obvious."

Faye's eyes widened in alarm. "Shit, am I?"

"To everyone but her, yeah," Augur assured her. "Don't worry - between the shit with her family stuff and her being a sheltered little thing, I'm pretty sure she's as oblivious to your feelings as you are to hers."

Faye blinked. "What."

Augur laughed out loud at her reaction, but before he could continue, there was a knock at the door. The twins both turned to see their mother staring at them, her expression serious.

"Kids," she said quietly. "I just got a call from your father."

* * *

Professor Arc was making a call to his family, but Jo didn't find herself thinking about that much. Instead, she was sat opposite Taiyang, her mind racing.

"They know about me, now," she said, for what must have been the hundredth time. "I… How did they never learn about me before?"

"You were off their records before," Taiyang said gently. He seemed to have come out of the fight in a decent condition, albeit clearly winded and shaken. "Now, though… between being at Beacon, spending time in a city with cameras everywhere, and worse, that little stunt where you beat up a skilled assassin in no time?" He sighed. "You were bound to come up on their radar one day. We'd hoped they wouldn't know what you'd look like."

Jo looked up at him. "Dad…"

He smiled. "It's okay. It'll be okay. I promise."

 _No it won't,_ Jo thought. _It'll never be okay again._

She didn't say anything. How could she?

After a moment, Arc walked back into the room. He looked more battered than Taiyang did, and his expression was grim.

"Jo, Tai," he sad heavily. "I've spoken with Pyrrha. We're working on the assumption that they won't attack the school."

"What does that mean?" Jo asked.

"That means," Arc said, "that you can return to Beacon after the half-term break, and in fact it might actually be safer for you to do so."

Jo nodded once. She hadn't really thought about it.

"And after that?" Taiyang asked, scowling. "They _know_ , now!"

"I can talk to Winter," Arc said quietly, "see if she can shut Black down. In the meantime, like I said, she'll be safe at school."

"Black's still operating after all this time," Taiyang said, standing up. "It's been almost two decades, and he's still around, _still_ doing what he was doing before! What in the hells makes you think Winter will somehow be able to stop him _now_?!"

Arc sighed, before glancing at Jo, who didn't respond to any of it. Taiyang's expression softened, and he sighed.

"Come on, Jaune," he said quietly, leading Arc out of the room. Jo watched them go, not really taking in anything they'd been saying, her mind still reeling from the revelations of the last hour.

* * *

Jaune folded his arms as Taiyang took a deep breath. He sensed the older man wanted to say something important, and he didn't want to interrupt - not least because he might trigger Taiyang actively deciding to start yelling.

"Do you know," Taiyang said finally, "what I've lost over the years?"

Jaune frowned, but didn't say anything.

"I've lost both the mothers of my daughters," Taiyang continued, speaking quietly. "I lost Qrow, a man who - despite everything - was still the closest thing to a brother I ever had. I've not _seen_ either of my daughters in years. For all I know, Ruby is dead in a ditch somewhere and I don't even want to think about where Yang might be." He took a deep breath. "When you brought Jo, I have to admit, I didn't know what to think. Whether I could be a father again, give that much again. But I did it." He looked back to the room where Jo was sitting. "She's as strong and brash as Yang, sometimes, and sometimes she's as naive and open-minded as Ruby was. And she's good-hearted like they were. She's my daughter, Jaune." He looked back at Jaune, his eyes now wet with unshed tears. "I don't know whether you can keep her safe. I don't know whether anyone could, not if Black keeps sending those… those _other subjects_." He looked away, putting a hand over his eyes, and for a moment Jaune remembered just how old Taiyang actually was. "I just want you to promise me to try. To try and stop her from being hurt. From doing stupid things. From… just… just try and keep her safe."

Jaune took a deep breath. "Tai… I know what it's like." At Taiyang's look, he held up a hand. "Hear me out. I lost Pyrrha. I lost Pyrrha just as I was starting to realise Pyrrha was someone that I couldn't bear to lose. And I spent a year carrying that loss - until I was given a second chance." He took a deep breath. "I saved her. She's damaged, yes, but she's _alive._ And we have two beautiful, brilliant children. I… I don't know what I'd do without any of them, but I know that I'd tear the world apart, destroy anything, _everything_ , to protect them." He sighed. "It's one reason I take what I do at Beacon so seriously. So many other parents have put their most precious things in our care, and we have an obligation. It's an obligation I have always, _always_ understood." He met Taiyang's eyes with his own, and felt a tear track down his own cheek. "I know. I understand. And I promise you, I will do _everything_ I can to protect your daughter."

Taiyang nodded slowly, thoughtfully, his expression becoming carefully neutral, as though he was trying to conceal any further emotional outbursts.

"Alright, Jaune," he said. "Alright."


	5. Four: Return to Beacon

**Four**

 **Return to Beacon**

* * *

 **Patch Island, 30th October, year 106 ABC (After the Battle of Calenhad).**

On a cold, damp Sunday morning, Taiyang and Jo were waiting. They watched as a small airship landed near their home, taking its time. Standing on the lip of the airship was Jaune Arc. With him was the kimono-clad form of Toshiro Mono, one of her teachers from Beacon, one hand on the hilt of his katana as he looked around. Both men looked tense. Not that Jo could blame them. She briefly wondered why Mono was here.

 _Maybe Professor Arc told him what I am,_ Jo thought miserably. _Great. More people know about the freak of nature._

"You're sure you want to go back?" Taiyang asked Jo. She looked at him, and saw that his expression was full of worry.

"I'm sure," she said quietly. "It'll be nice… y'know. To go and feel normal, be around my friends and stuff."

' _Normal'. Yeah, right._

She pushed the thought aside. "I… I need to go back. I need to process this. I can't do that by shutting the world out."

Taiyang's face betrayed his feelings. He knew that she wasn't alright, she could see it in the worried furrow of his brow, the softness of his eyes. She smiled at him as best she could.

"I'm okay," she lied, her voice as light as she could make it. " _Really._ "

He nodded once. "If you say so, kiddo. Just…" Sighing, he hugged her around the shoulder. "Don't forget. You're my daughter: this stuff doesn't change that one bit."

She hugged him back, giving him a small smile. "Yeah. Thanks, Dad."

Professor Arc walked up to her, one hand on his sword hilt as he glanced around.

"You ready?" he asked quietly.

Jo snorted. "Yeah, I'm ready." She glanced at Professor Mono, who was looking around with his usual stern expression. "Why's Professor Mono here?"

"Because I trust him to do what needs to be done," Arc said quietly. "Whatever needs to be done."

"Does he… does he know?" Jo asked quietly.

"Not yet," Arc said, his face emotionless - if the question bothered him, he didn't show it. "I'm going to have to tell him soon, though."

Jo didn't say anything to that. If she thought about it for long, she figured it was probably only fair that the teachers of Beacon Academy know about the potential threat that the… the Jordis subjects ( _my real family_ ) posed to the school. Still, the thought that everyone who taught her would know what she was…

 _A freak: an abomination that someone grew in the lab. Nothing._

The two of them stepped onto the airship, and

"I'm going to make sure you're safe," Arc said suddenly. "I promise."

"Yeah," Jo said, trying to sound like she believed him. It wasn't even that she didn't, necessarily. It was more like she didn't feel necessarily endangered. She had other things on her mind, after all.

 _Freak. Monster. Abomination. Not meant to exist. Nothing._

She sighed. This was going to be a long trip…

* * *

He didn't want to let her go. Why _would_ he? But he knew he didn't have a choice in the matter. She had to do this for herself.

Taiyang felt a sense of… he didn't know what, exactly. Foreboding, he supposed, but a sense of inevitability as well. Twice before, he had seen his daughters walk away from this house and into the world, faced with something greater than he could ever have imagined.

 _I'm sorry,_ he thought to them. _I'm sorry I couldn't be better for you, be stronger, protect you from it._

He smiled despite himself, knowing what both his daughters would say, in their own ways. _'It was never your job to protect us from the world forever. It was just your job to do your best to prepare us for it.'_

Of course, Yang would probably have just whacked him.

"I hope I prepared you enough, kiddo," he said, though he knew Jo couldn't hear him. He didn't know if he had, but he had done his best. He had to hope that was enough.

* * *

When they arrived at Beacon on the airship, Jo took a moment to marvel from the window at the sheer beauty of the school. Her last week here before the half term holidays had been… fraught, to say the least. There didn't seem to be anything different about it, physically, but Jo found that there was something different about how she felt about it.

… _Glynda Goodwitch's body fell backwards, a spray of blood exploding from a hole blown through her chest, shock on her face…_

Jo closed her eyes. She was different, and this place was different. Maybe it always would be.

 _What a great way to start my first year,_ she thought, and she gave a small, mirthless chuckle that caused Professor Arc to look at her with a frown.

"Something funny?" he asked.

"Sorry, sir," she said quietly. "Just… I guess I'm thinking about how my first year is going."

Arc snorted. "I can see why it would be something of a… mixed experience so far." He gave a wry, amused smirk. "Have you considered transferring?"

"Pretty sure it wasn't anything to do with the school," Jo said, but her mirth died. "Besides, I'm safer here. Right?"

"Right," Arc said quietly. He sighed. "Jo. If you ever need to talk…"

She nodded at the unfinished sentence, giving him a brave attempt at a reassuring smile. He didn't believe it when she gave it any more than she believed it when she gave it, she could tell from his expression, but she didn't find it within herself to care.

When the airship finally touched down, Jo made her way straight to her dorm room without saying anything to anyone, and Professor Arc didn't bother stopping her.

The room was empty, of course. Everyone else would be arriving on Monday morning. Jo didn't mind, though. She preferred to be alone, anyway, at least for the moment.

She didn't know how she was going to face her friends when they came back. How she was going to face up to… to…

 _Just admit it, Jo,_ a small voice said in her head. _How_ are _you going to face up to being a test-tube thing some crazy Atlesian grew to see if the greatness of people like Ruby Rose or Jaune Arc could get transferred down the line? How_ are _you going to face up to the fact that you are_ nothing, _a vat-grown, homeless pile of genes and cells, and that no one and_ nothing _cared about you?_

Jo found herself feeling a kind of bitter amusement. _Before all this… before all this I was thinking about my parents. Now I don't have to. Now I'll never have to think about them again. They don't exist._

She didn't even bother changing out of her jumpsuit as she lay back on her bed. She closed her eyes and tried her very best to sleep.

* * *

Jaune sighed as he sat at his desk, tapping his metal fingers on the desk impatiently. He glanced at his clock.

He smirked, albeit without real humour, at the thought of this being 'his' office. The office of the Headmistress - the Headmaster, now that that was (temporarily, at least) him - hadn't changed from when it was Glynda Goodwitch's. Jaune had been dealing with more pressing issues than decor for the last two weeks, trying not only to figure out how to tell Jo about her history, but to deal with the obvious facts that were now laid out before him.

 _A new threat was coming._

They had no details, of course. The assassin who had killed Glynda was still recovering from his injuries, but even in his injured state he was stubborn and uncooperative. That being said… it wasn't just _anyone_ who murdered a teacher of Beacon. And it wasn't just _any_ assassin they had hired - he had been skilled enough to kill Glynda immediately, take down Jaune, Toshiro and Porter, and escape almost without being caught. Only Jo's timely intervention (and, from her own testimony, her ability to somehow tap into latent Jordis conditioning) had seen the man stopped, albeit at the cost of injuries to Jaune's daughter _,_ along with another student, Delilah Nacht.

 _A shitshow,_ Jaune thought with a snort. _And proof - if it were needed - that somebody's moving out there._

And whoever it was, they were nothing like Salem. Killing Glynda? That was a bold move, not one that could have been associated with the perennially cautious, master chess-player that Salem had been. And without hearing anything from Oscar…

 _He'll be fine,_ Jaune reassured himself. _Oscar's smart. And even if he does get killed…_

He didn't let himself finish that thought. It was too cruel. Fortunately, he was saved from further contemplation by the elevator pinging, the door opening to reveal an unusually somber Nora Valkyrie, followed by Mono.

"'Shiro, Nora," Jaune said, sighing. "I'm glad you're here."

Nora took a seat opposite Jaune, and Mono simply stood, his arms folded. Neither of them spoke, clearly waiting for him to take the lead.

 _Never imagined it would be me, doing this,_ Jaune thought. He'd always seen Glynda as the sort of person who'd do this forever. Or at least until Oscar decided to stop wandering and maybe take up Ozpin's old job. Jaune has never envisioned himself taking this role.

"Nora," Jaune said quietly. "You're here because you were with me, and more importantly, with _Ruby_ , during the Insurrection." He took a deep breath. "Toshiro. _You,_ I know I can trust, even if you hadn't been there."

Mono bowed his head gratefully.

"That being said," Jaune said carefully, "what we discuss remains between us. I will be speaking with Quinn Kane, Winter Schnee and Jason Argo after our conversation, but apart from them and who they choose to involve, no one can know what we are about to discuss."

"A serious matter, then," Mono said quietly.

"Deadly," Jaune said quietly. He leant back in his chair. "'Shiro. How much do you know about the power behind the White Fang during the Insurrection?"

"Not much," Mono admitted. "There was rumoured to be some sort of conspiracy behind it."

"There was," Jaune said quietly. He looked at Nora, whose eyes were narrowed in confusion. "A being called Salem. She was some sort of… some sort of hybrid of Grimm and human. Immensely powerful, and immensely dangerous."

One hand going to his beard almost reflexively, Mono gave no outward sign of shock. "A chessmaster behind the board, then." He sniffed. "And she…"

"Was destroyed," Nora put in. "Ruby did it herself."

"Impressive," Mono said quietly. "I see Ruby Rose's reputation was deserved."

Jaune didn't comment on that. "Salem _was_ destroyed. Unfortunately, that was only part of the problem."

Nora's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

Jaune let out a breath, preparing himself. "Oscar only told two people this. Glynda and Ruby. Ruby told me, so she and I could be vigilant together and… well, So she could get it off her chest." He looked between the two of them. "Salem was not the first creature of her kind to threaten Remnant. And she isn't the last."

Nora swallowed, her eyes still wide, and Mono's hand stayed near his face, stroking his beard contemplatively.

"Another Salem?" Nora finally said.

"Not quite," Jaune said. He sighed, looking to Mono. "For the record: Professor Ozpin is alive, sort of. He goes by Oscar now."

"And he's shorter," Nora added.

To Mono's credit, he registered this information with nothing more than a slight widening of the eyes, his hand stopping its contemplative beard-massage for a moment. Finally, he nodded.

"Duly noted," he said. "I presume he has some insight?"

"There were twelve of these things," Jaune said, deciding to keep it simple. "With Salem gone, eight are dead. Four are left. One of them, apparently, figured on a life of contemplative exile, but three are still alive and still a threat to us."

"I see," Mono said quietly. He looked at Nora, whose eyes were still wide.

"Jaune," she said quietly, "I… we barely held against Salem. And now there's another one? Another _three?!_ "

Jaune gave her a reassuring smile. "We have the advantage, for now. We _know_ , somehow, that these things are working against us. So we know what to look out for."

Mono let out a sigh. "Are we suspecting the recent violence - the bombings, the assassination of Professor Goodwitch - to be the first step in a larger design?"

Jaune nodded. "I'm beginning to think that it's too similar to be a coincidence. For now, though, I want feelers out."

"That'll be hard," Nora said quietly. "There's not as many of us as there used to be."

"No, you're right," Jaune said quietly, and he sighed. "Which means you need to get Ren out of his retirement. And I need to make a call or two I don't want to make after I've spoken with the other heads."

"Is Ozpin - or Oscar - still available as an aid?" Mono asked. "Or…"

"We don't know," Jaune said with a helpless shrug. "After the Insurrection He took off, said something about a kind of research - trying to find out which of the three would move, I think. At least, that's how Ruby told it."

"Indeed," Mono said, frowning. He looked from Nora to Jaune, before taking a breath. "And… what _of_ Miss Rose?"

Jaune felt his face pale. "What about her?"

"She disappeared," Mono said quietly. "That much any history student could say." He looked between the two of them. "But surely you… either of you… would know where she is now?"

Nora's expression turned morose, and Jaune sighed.

"No, 'Shiro," he said quietly. "We don't."

Mono nodded, accepting this. "Then we will trust to what we know. I will do what I can - perhaps I know some individuals who can still be trusted."

"That'd be useful," Jaune said quietly. He sighed. "Unfortunately, there's another issue to face in the meantime."

"Whoever attacked you at Taiyang Xiao Long's residence," Mono guessed.

"Wait, what?" Nora asked, frowning. "Someone attacked you?"

"It'd be more accurate to say that someone attacked Tai and me," Jaune said, sighing. "They were after Jo."

"Could it be related?" Mono asked. "Someone seeking to attack the girl for her relation to Ruby Rose, to try and remove her from play?"

Jaune blinked at the question, before chuckling slightly. Of course Mono would draw that conclusion - it fitted.

"Her relation?" Nora repeated.

Mono snorted. "Surely you've noticed. The girl looks so much like the pictures I've seen of Ruby Rose that it would be difficult for anyone astute who was searching to miss that connection."

"It's not related," Jaune said quietly.

Briefly, he explained Jo's history and significance to the two of them, as well as the attacker.

When he was done, Mono was back to stroking his beard. "Curious. And yet, I must ask a hard question."

"Shoot," Jaune said tiredly.

"Why not simply let them take her?" Mono asked. "They may have created these creatures for a hard life…"

"These _children_ ," Nora put in, frowning. "They're only children, still, 'Shiro."

Mono inclined his head. "Just so. And yet, do we know that she would be so badly off? Maybe she would find a kindred spirit there, among those made to be her family?"

"A kindred spirit?" Nora repeated incredulously.

Mono frowned at her tone. "It takes little effort to see that, for much of her time here, she has felt lost. You tell us that she has asked the question of who she is, and now that has been answered. Much as it is a shock, it is the truth."

"I understand what you're saying," Jaune said evenly. "But I saw their compound, 'Shiro. That is not a life for any human. Not even one made for it. She deserves the choice, and she made it."

Mono nodded, apparently accepting this as well. "I see. In that instance, I swear to aid in keeping her safe as well as can be done."

"Me, too," Nora said quietly. She chuckled slightly. "I mean, technically she's part of the family."

Jaune snorted. "Technically."

Mono let out a breath. "I must begin speaking to my contacts soon, if I am to make headway." He bowed to Jaune. "Headmaster."

Jaune smirked. "Don't get too used to that, 'Shiro. I'm only a temporary Head, til they pick someone better."

"If that happens," Mono said darkly, and he walked out.

After he left, Nora looked back to Jaune. "You lied to him, you know."

"Did I?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah," Nora said, frowning at him. "You _do_ know where Ruby is."

"After eighteen years?" Jaune asked, smiling mirthlessly. "She's not coming back, Nora. If she's even alive -"

"She's alive," Nora said at once. "We'd all _know_."

" _If_ she's alive," Jaune repeated patiently, "it's clear she wants to be where she is, _not_ where we are."

Nora slumped in her seat. "She could come back. Maybe she's doing what Oscar's doing, looking for the new enemy."

Jaune didn't say anything. Unlike Nora, he had been there when Ruby made the choice to go.

"Maybe," was all he said, trying to sound convincing in his uncertainty. Nora smiled, and he smiled too, and then she was gone, leaving him alone.

 _You know, Ruby,_ he thought. _I wish you_ would _come back._

* * *

Once again, she was flying, looking over the continent of Solitas. It was the same as ever - cold and green and beautiful. She had dreamt this before, so many times, and yet… she had never understood it. Once, she had thought it was to do with her parents. Obviously, though, that wasn't the case.

Soon enough, she was seeing the cliff, the same cliff's edge that she always saw. Once again, she landed, and approached the woman at the edge, the woman in the grey cloak.

 _Who are you?!_ she wanted to cry out, but she remained silent. The woman didn't turn around.

"You've always wanted a sense of belonging, even if you only accept that now," the cloaked figure said, her tone soft and even. "You've always wanted surety. Now that you have it… how do you feel?"

Jo didn't answer. She couldn't answer. Within the dream, she felt like she had been struck dumb. She looked down, only to see herself clad in the same silvery bodysuit Jordis 008 had worn, and when she looked up, the other girl - her white hair flowing in the wind - was looking right at her.

"Come home, One," she said quietly. "Come back to your _family_."

And then Jo woke up.


	6. Five: Abomination - Part 1

**Five**

 **Abomination - Part 1**

* * *

 **Beacon Academy, 31st October (Grimmstag), year 106 ABC (After the Battle of Calenhad).**

When Jo woke up, she sighed at the empty room. None of the other members of her team were here yet. She wasn't surprised, though: the last day of October, or Grimmstag, was a national holiday. The chances were that most of the kids would be in by the end of the day, but it would be a long, lonely day.

 _Perfect_ , a part of her thought. She didn't really want to see anyone just yet.

She got out of her bed, stretching slightly. She was still wearing her crumpled jumpsuit, the entire thing more than a little sweaty after having been slept in. She ran a hand through her hair, wincing as she pulled a knot. She glanced at her fingers, idly flicking the pulled hair from them, before heading for the bathroom.

The mirror was staring back at her. She grimaced at her bleary eyes and crumpled attire.

 _There I am,_ she thought, looking at herself. She looked no different from how she'd looked before even starting this Huntress thing, no different from how she'd looked for as long as she could remember.

… except for the eyes. Silver eyes. Ironic that she looked even more like Ruby Rose than she had before the half term break, when she'd thought that the long-lost heroine might have been her mother.

 _But I have no mother,_ she thought, her mouth thinning into a white line. _No mother, no father. I'm just a… just a…_

She resisted the urge to break the glass, destroy the reminder of what she was, what she _wasn't_. She turned away from the mirror, feeling her fist balling up so tight that her nails might have broken flesh had her aura not been protecting her. She stepped out of the bathroom, before blinking at the sight of the figure standing in her dorm room doorway.

"So," Faye Arc said, her arms crossed and an irritated expression on her face. "When were you planning on coming over and saying hi?"

* * *

Jaune Arc didn't like this office.

It was too high up. It was too isolated. It made him feel like he was looking over the world, like he was somehow above everyone else, but in truth he had never felt lower in his entire life.

… well, that was a lie: he had felt lower once before, when Pyrrha had been… gone. That had been a hard time.

Still, this wasn't much better. Without Glynda, it fell to _him_ of all people to be the leader in the fight against…

 _What in the hells_ am _I even fighting against?_ he thought. He didn't want to think about it, but at the same time, he didn't have a choice anymore. Without Glynda here, without Oscar around to give sage advice, without _anyone_ else left to be the person who led this fight, it was _his_ responsibility, his duty.

He could almost feel the weight of it all, crushing him, pressing hard against his chest, making him feel every bit his forty six years of age. Maybe more. And all of that pressure just reminded him how inadequate he felt.

 _Now I think I understand some of why you left,_ he thought, thinking of Ruby.

Once upon a time, it had been _her_ leading the fight, with Oscar's guidance. Had she felt this lowness, this fear of failure? Had she felt like she could never measure up?

He dismissed the entire train of thought, and willed himself to focus. There was a lot to consider: Glynda's assassination, as he'd said to Toshiro and Nora, was no doubt part of something bigger. A sign of things to come.

There was a soft _ding_ from behind him, and he sighed, turning to face the elevator as the doors to it opened. A man in a long black coat stepped out of the doorway: he was fair-skinned and dark haired, with a pronounced widow's peak and an easy grin. Apart from a few lines and specks of grey, it didn't seem as though time had touched him at all in the near two decades since he and Jaune had first met.

"Jovis," the acting headmaster said grimly.

"Jaune," the man replied, grinning. "Long time no speak."

* * *

Jo didn't respond for a moment, instead staring blankly at Faye. The other girl simply stared right back at her, her expression somewhere between bemused and annoyed.

"Sorry," Jo said after a moment, running a hand through her hair. "I was… y'know. Tired from the trip."

Faye nodded. "Uh huh."

Jo sighed, before moving to her trunk. "Yeah."

Faye simply watched her as she went through her luggage, sorting through different sets of clothes. Jo found herself idly wondering if Faye would object to her changing into something less sweaty. That though, unfortunately, led into a line of thought about getting undressed in front of Faye, which was – while not entirely unwelcome – certainly the wrong kind of distracting.

"So," Faye said, cutting in (thankfully before Jo could get too distracted by that particular chain of thought). "How was it?"

Jo blinked, confused by the question ( _damn my dirty mind to all the seven hells_ ). "Uh, how was what?"

Faye rolled her eyes. "My dad went to talk to you about your parents." She folded her arms. "So, _how was it_? Did you get answers?"

Hearing Faye ask about Professor Arc's visit to her home felt like someone had just dropped a bucket of cold water over her. All the slightly pleasant distracting thoughts vanished, replaced by one word, repeated over and over.

 _Abomination._

"What? It can't have been that bad," Faye said. A hint of uncertainty crept into her expression. "Can it?"

Jo didn't look at her. "I… don't want to talk about it, Faye."

"Come on," Faye said, grinning almost awkwardly. "It's me. I'm here for you."

"It… I…" Jo hesitated. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You were talking about it a lot _before_ ," Faye pointed out. "So what's changed? Was it bad?"

"Faye…" Jo felt a wave of dismay. _She'll think I'm a freak. Just a fucked-up test-tube baby that should never have existed._

Faye was rambling. "Was your mom a drug addict? Or maybe a hardcore White Fang loon, or one of the crazy people who helped them?"

"What?" Jo said, blinking. She almost laughed. "I… no, that's… why would you even say that?"

She actually did laugh after a moment, and Faye grinned.

"Got a laugh out of you, didn't it?" she asked, speaking in a softer tone.

"Yeah," Jo said, her mirth subsiding. "But…"

"It's bad, isn't it?" Faye asked, cutting her off. Jo nodded, and Faye's expression softened even more. "Jo… I'm here for you. You know I am."

"Yeah," Jo said again, quietly.

"So? What's wrong?" Faye asked.

 _Don't tell her,_ a small part of Jo's mind hissed. _If you tell her, she'll just confirm what you already know. You're a freak. An abomination._

 _But,_ a different part of her mind said, _she's_ Faye _. If I can't tell her, who_ can _I tell?_

"Alright," Jo said quietly. "Here goes."

And she began speaking.

* * *

Jovis stood in the elevator doorway for a good minute, looking over Jaune as though appraising him.

"So, Jauney boy," he finally said, leaning against the doorway of the elevator and grinning. "What's so important that made you decide to finally look me up after - what, twenty years?"

"Something like that," Jaune said grimly. "Have a seat."

"Why thank you, Jaune," Jovis said, his tone a mocking reflection of Jaune's own. "I _will_ have a seat." He tutted as he took a seat opposite Jaune. "You've become so _serious_ over the last two decades."

"I was _always_ serious," Jaune pointed out. "When we first met -"

"When we first met, if I recall, I helped you save the love of your life from being a prisoner of Salem, and after that I gave you the formula needed to help manage her… condition," Jovis said, a more dangerous edge suddenly coming to his voice. His expression softened into a more gentle smile. "Since then, if the news is accurate, you two had two lovely children. I'm so, _so_ pleased for you."

"Thank you," Jaune said, smiling back.

"But seriously, Jauney boy," Jovis continued, "you don't call, you don't write… gotta ask, what _did_ I do wrong?"

Jaune pursed his lips. "You know."

"Of course _I_ know," Jovis chuckled. "But I want to hear you _say_ it."

Jaune took a breath. "You're not trustworthy."

"Of course I'm not," Jovis said, grinning. "Even the first time we met, you knew that."

* * *

 _ **A long time ago…**_

 _This 'Jovis', a strange man who had approached Jaune in this Mistrali bar, had a feral grin on his face as he spoke. "I know the location of one of the complexes Salem's people use for a particularly nasty set of experiments._ If _you're interested."_

 _Jaune's eyes widened. "You do?"_

" _Oh yes," Jovis said with a smile. "They are experiments Salem values highly. Part of her grand master plan."_

 _Jaune found himself glaring at the man. "And_ how _do you know this?"_

" _The how and the why are irrelevant for the moment, Jaune," Jovis said with a half smile. "I can call you 'Jaune', can't I?"_

" _Call me what you want," Jaune replied testily. "But I can't just trust you if you come out of the blue."_

" _No? Ah," Jovis said, leaning forward again. "Then let me sweeten the deal for you." He took a breath. "Pyrrha Nikos is_ alive _."_

 _Jaune blinked and then glared at the man, furiously. "Get lost."_

" _No, really," Jovis said with a grin._

 _He brought out a scroll, tapped a button, and then the image of - Jaune's heart skipped a beat -_ Pyrrha _was on the screen. She was in a medical robe, her skin pale, but she was definitely breathing, lying in a clinical-looking hospital bed, an IV with an unknown dark liquid hooked to her arm._

" _She's alive," Jovis reiterated, "and you_ can _save her from a fate some would call worse than death, but you need to trust me, and you need to act_ now _."_

 _Jaune looked from the image of Pyrrha to the man in front of him._

" _How am I supposed to trust you?" he asked._

" _Because Salem and I have a history," Jovis said, and his tone became, for once, deadly serious. "And when it comes down to it, I don't want her to succeed any more than you do. And more to the point, I want_ you _to succeed."_

" _You mean me and my friends?" Jaune asked, narrowing his eyes at the peculiar emphasis._

" _I mean_ you, _Jaune Arc," Jovis reiterated. "You see, I have a history with your family, too. A somewhat checkered one, admittedly, but I have always acted in what I consider to be your best interests." His expression softened. "After all: you love Pyrrha Nikos, don't you?"_

 _Jaune's expression hardened. "That's none of your business."_

" _It's absolutely my business," Jovis replied. "I wouldn't be here, trying to save_ her, _if it weren't for_ you _. I'm doing this_ for _you." He leant forward. "So what do you say?"_

 _Jaune didn't speak for a moment, but both men knew what his answer would be. It had been inevitable from the moment Jovis had brought out the video of Pyrrha._

" _Alright," Jaune said. "I'll have to talk to the others, but if this is one of Salem's facilities, they'll be more than eager to help us destroy it."_

" _Excellent," Jovis said. "One condition to my help, though."_

" _What?" Jaune asked._

" _You mustn't tell them about me," Jovis said. "Tell them it was an anonymous tip, the video ended up in your emails. Which, coincidentally, it just did." He grinned as Jaune's scroll pinged. "I would prefer to keep myself hidden, for the moment."_

 _Jaune narrowed his eyes. "Why?"_

" _Because like I said, Salem and I have a history," Jovis said easily. "Just because I want to act against her, that doesn't mean I want her_ knowing _I am. She's… tetchy."_

 _Given everything they knew about Salem, Jaune felt like this was probably a massive understatement._

" _So you're trying to protect yourself," he said._

" _If you like," Jovis replied easily. "It'll be easier all round if she doesn't know I was involved."_

 _Jaune didn't know what to make of that: what 'history' could any being have with Salem? Was this 'Jovis' just a lucky human who'd managed to avoid being killed by_

" _Alright," he finally said. "I'll trust you."_

* * *

"So," Jovis said, bringing Jaune's attention back to the here and now. He was still grinning. "What is it that you need so much that you'll risk talking to me again?"

"Cut the crap, Jovis," Jaune said quietly. He stood up. "There's things happening in this kingdom. Bombings. Attacks. Glynda was _assassinated_."

"I heard," Jovis said, and to his credit he managed to look serious. "Terrible business." He paused. "You think I know something."

"When we first met, you 'knew' something," Jaune growled. "Plenty of somethings. Some of them things you _shouldn't_ have known."

"And you're thinking I might know something about the latest bout of chaos in these here parts," Jovis guessed, chuckling.

"Yeah," Jaune said. "Something like that."

Jovis raised an eyebrow. "I see."

There was a long pause as the two stared at each other.

"Well?" Jaune finally asked.

Jovis grinned. "Well… I might."

Jaune's lips thinned. "Alright. What's your 'price' this time."

"Same as last," Jovis said. "You can't tell anyone about me."

"Then it's another of them," Jaune said quietly. "Another of the…"

"I didn't say that," Jovis interrupted, holding up a finger. "But if it _is,_ I don't want them to have any idea I'm involved, any more than I did Salem."

Jaune nodded slowly. "Alright, then." He paused. "What about Oscar?"

"Ah, yes, dear old Oz," Jovis chuckled. "No, not him, either. He and I… well, if I had a history with Salem, you can bet I had a history with him too." His expression soured. "No, he can't know either."

"Why not?" Jaune asked. "Back in the day you said you didn't want Salem to succeed, and I'm guessing that's true for the others. Sounds like you and he have enemies in common."

"We do," Jovis said, nodding slowly. "Let's just say, we're not on speaking terms at present." His expression hardened. "He _cannot know._ "

Jaune sighed. "Alright. Fine. I won't tell him."

"Or anyone," Jovis reminded him.

"Or anyone," Jaune repeated. "Do you…" He paused. "What can you do?"

"Probably more than you realise but less than you hope," Jovis said, grinning. "But I shall see, and get back to you. It may be that I can keep feelers out there, find out exactly which of the thirteen you are facing now. Find some answers."

Jaune closed his eye. "Thanks, Jovis."

"Anything for a friend, Jaune," Jovis said easily, standing up. "If that's all."

"It is," Jaune said quietly. "Thanks, Jovis."

"I wouldn't thank me yet," Jovis said with an easy smile as he stepped into the elevator. "I said I'd find some answers. I never said you'd enjoy them."

The elevator doors closed before Jaune could reply.

* * *

Faye was staring at Jo. Her eyes were wide, her brows furrowing slowly. Her mouth was hanging open in shock.

"Yeah," Jo said quietly, shrugging at Faye's silence. "That."

"Shit," Faye said quietly. "That's…"

She had known that Jo had had something big on her mind, but…

… _holy gods of Olympus._ Faye slowly closed her mouth shut. _No wonder she's been weird. If all of what my Dad told her is true…_

Faye had never heard of anything that sounded crazier - clones, genetic maps, engineering people to be the perfect warrior? But at the same time, it did make sense: how Jo could have spontaneously developed silver eyes, how she had somehow beaten an assassin who had beaten not only Faye's father, but half the faculty.

"It's a thing, y-yeah," Jo said, nodding with a small, rueful smile. "You see now why I said I don't want to talk about it."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Faye hissed. "I mean, by all the Seven Gates, that's… that's some seriously effed up shit!"

"Gee, you know how to make a girl feel better," Jo said with a sardonic smirk that quickly soured. "I don't want to talk about it anymore, Faye. Just… just leave me alone for a bit, ok?"

Faye crossed her arms. "Uh huh. Not buying it."

Jo frowned. "I said -"

"I know what you said," Faye cut in. "And that whole 'I'm miserable, leave me alone' thing might work with other people, but not with me. The last thing you need is to be alone."

"Right, because you know so well what I need," Jo said with a snort.

"Jo…" Faye said, sighing. "That's… what you've told me is a _big thing,_ Jo."

"No shit," Jo replied quietly.

"I'm serious," Faye insisted. "Like… if your parents were druggies or crazy or terrorists, they'd still be -"

"YOU'RE NOT HELPING!" Jo snapped.

There was a sudden, tense pause as the shout lingered on the air. Faye's eyes went wide with shock. She could have sworn there were tears forming in Jo's eyes, and her friend's expression was nothing short of distraught.

"Jo, I…" Faye began, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm not very good at this stuff."

"That's ok," Jo murmured. "I know it's… it's…"

She trailed off, looking away again. Faye reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

"What are you feeling?" she asked Jo, trying to speak as softly as she could.

"What do you think I'm feeling?" Jo said harshly. Faye recoiled, and Jo's expression softened again. "Sorry, it's just…"

"Hey, I'm here for you," Faye said quietly.

"I know," Jo said, and she smiled. "I'm… I'm just…" Her lower lip curled up and her brow furrowed, like she was fighting back tears. "I'm a freak, Faye."

Faye's eyes widened. "You are not!"

"Then what am I?!" Jo asked, almost pleading. "I'm a damned monster! They put me together in a fucking _petri dish,_ grew me in a _test tube_. I've got a damn _number_!" Tears started streaking down her face. "For the gods' sake, I spent half of my time here thinking I was Ruby Rose's daughter, but I'm not, I'm a fucking clone. An _abomination_."

"Hey, hey…" Faye grabbed Jo and pulled her into a hug, the other girl sobbing into her shoulder. "You're not an abomination, Jo. You're a girl. A beautiful, kind girl, and it doesn't matter where you came from. You're my friend."

"I… but I'm a freak, Faye," Jo whispered. "A fucking freak."

"You are not," Faye insisted, pulling out of the hug and holding Jo by the shoulders. She looked her friend dead in the eye. "You saved my damn life, you hear me? I don't give a shit how you were born, or if there's some prick somewhere who called you a number." She felt her own eyes fill with tears. "There is so, _so_ much more to you than that."

Jo sniffed. "You mean it?"

Faye nodded, smiling brightly. "Cross my heart, hope to die."

Jo chuckled weakly, but still looked miserable. "Sorry. I know I'm a mess."

"Yeah, but you're _my_ mess," Faye said with a weak laugh. "And don't you forget it."

"Ok," Jo said, still smiling. "I… uh… I should probably get a shower."

Faye nodded. "You know where I am if you need to talk more, right?"

"Yeah," Jo said. "Thanks, Faye."

She walked back into the bathroom and closed the door, and Faye sighed, before walking out of the room - and stopping dead in her tracks.

Standing in the corridor, leaning against a wall, was Taylor Hermann, one of Faye's teammates. Her hands were deep in her ubiquitous trenchcoat's pockets, and she had an almost self-consciously neutral expression on her pale, bland face.

"Hrm," she grunted nonchalantly. "Interesting conversation."


	7. Six: Abomination - Part 2

**Six**

 **Abomination - Part 2**

* * *

 **Beacon Academy, 31st October (Grimmstag), year 106 ABC (After the Battle of Calenhad).**

"The fuck," Faye whispered, her eyes wide and furious.

"Nice to see you too, Faye," Taylor said evenly, her lips twitching into a small smirk. "Good holiday?"

"What are you doing, lurking outside a dorm room like you're the Huntsman or something?!" Faye hissed.

Taylor raised an eyebrow at that. "You read that comic?"

"Answer the question," Faye hissed.

Taylor seemed to consider Faye's words, her expression thoughtful, almost analytical.

"Eavesdropping," she finally said, her tone nonchalant. She tilted her head. "Thought that was obvious."

"Yeah, I guessed _that_ ," Faye whispered, still seething. She took a breath, trying to calm herself down. "Look, you…"

Taylor held up a hand, forestalling Faye's tirade. She pointed behind Faye.

"Best have conversation away from Jo's room," she said quietly.

Faye glanced behind her at the door to JRNE's room, and sighed.

"Yeah," she said. "Best do."

She motioned for Taylor to follow her to their dorm-room, and the girl did so, hands again entrenched in her pockets.

Once they were in the dorm-room, Faye rounded on Taylor, her expression thunderous.

"Just how much of that conversation did you hear?" she asked, her tone quiet and deadly serious.

"Suspect a great deal," Taylor replied. She moved to sit down. "Presume you're meaning Jo's history."

"No shit," Faye growled. "What. Did. You. Hear?"

Taylor made another soft 'hrm' sound. "Jo Xiao Long actually product of secret Atlesian military tampering with genetic engineering. Contains DNA sequences and genetic traits from all members teams RWBY and JNPR." She raised her eyebrows. "Was apparently created to be ultimate warrior."

Faye took another breath, trying to restrain herself from hitting her teammate. The sheer insensitivity was unbelievable.

"You had no right," she whispered. "No right at all."

"Perhaps," Taylor agreed, meeting her eyes properly for the first time. "But heard it nonetheless. Brings interesting questions."

"Not for _you_ it doesn't," Faye replied, bringing a finger up and pointing it at Taylor's face. "I want you to forget what you heard, and not mention it again, got it?"

Taylor's eyes focused on the finger, her neutral expression not changing.

"Not possible to forget," she said blandly after a moment. "Important information, after all." At Faye's increasingly livid expression, she sighed. "Can maintain secrecy, however, if preferred."

"You'd _better_ ," Faye said, leaning forward. "You're not going to hurt my friend just 'cause you want to eavesdrop."

"No desire to hurt Jo," Taylor said, looking vaguely affronted. "Only wanted to hear conversation. Thought would be amusing for gossip. Anticipated flirting." Faye felt her cheeks redden as Taylor continued. "Had no idea it would turn out so important." She sniffed. "Besides. Jo will likely tell friends soon. Am likely to be included in conversation… if only on tangential level."

Faye paused. Taylor's wording of that seemed to suggest that she didn't think she counted as a friend.

"I… you…" Faye sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. " _If_ shedecides to tell people, that's her decision." She shook her head. "Gods, what is _wrong_ with you? You have any idea how horrible eavesdropping on something like that is?!"

Taylor shrugged. "Do now. Useful information. Thanks for that."

Not sure whether Taylor was joking or not, Faye just shook her head again and headed for her bed, flopping onto it heavily.

"Never answered, by the way," Taylor added.

"Answered what?" Faye asked irritably.

Taylor smirked again. "Good holiday?"

Faye just groaned.

* * *

Richard Atreus pulled on the cuff of his long Albion-style coat, sniffing slightly in the comparatively warm air of Vale in early Autumn. Running a hand through his deliberately mussed-up dark hair, he looked up at the sky, his mind wandering.

"Richard," a voice said from behind him.

Richard turned to face his father: Jared Atreus was a tall man, easily a head taller than his son, with a neatly cut beard, slicked back hair, and piercing blue eyes. Unlike Richard, who had decided to go 'casual', he was wearing his full Ducal Regalia: a long, double breasted jacket over a high collared shirt, the small symbol of Atlas Academy pinned to his left breast and the symbol of the House Atreus on his belt buckle. He gave a small half smile as he regarded his son.

"I think you've grown," Jared commented lightly.

Richard snorted. "Two centimetres since last term. Doubt I'll ever be quite _your_ height."

"No, you definitely get your build from your mother's side," Jared agreed, nodding slowly. "But you're every inch my son."

He placed a hand on Richard's shoulder, and the boy looked away. He felt a wash of something like shame.

"You know you can call me for help," Jared said quietly.

"Father…" Richard said, meeting his eyes.

"I mean it," Jared interrupted him. "I know you didn't like Porter telling me about your issues -"

Richard snorted again. 'Issues': such a delicate word for the addiction to the chemical performance enhancer MindDust, an addiction Porter Hall, once one of the Duke's best soldiers and now (now doubt thanks to the Duke ' _suggesting'_ he be given a post there) a teacher at Beacon, had noticed him developing. No doubt his father was coaching it in far kinder terms than Porter had.

"I have access to everything we know about the MindDust," Jared whispered. "You know that. All the scientists, medical knowledge, side effects… all you need to do is ask."

"I know," Richard said. He sighed. "I'll be fine, Father. Really."

"I know, my son," Jared said quietly. He clasped Richard's shoulder tightly. "I want you to know… no matter what path in this life you choose, you have always made me so very proud."

Richard gave his father a small smile. "Thank you, Father."

 _Lying bastard,_ he thought behind his smile.

* * *

 _Richard rolled under a spear as it thrust forward, dodging a swiping blade as it tried to carve him in half. He brought up his sonic cannon, and there was a whine before the spear tip disintegrated._

" _Alright, alright!" a voice called out, and the combat drone switched off. "That's quite enough!"_

 _Richard tensed, and then straightened up as the combat drone rolled back into its alcove. His father stepped down into the room, frowning down at the scattered, broken pieces of drones._

" _Damn it, Father, I was doing well!" Richard said, scowling._

" _Yes, you were," Jared said, rolling his eyes. "But you do know that the drones cost about two hundred thousand lien apiece, right?"_

" _Er, right," Richard said, rubbing the back of his head. "Er, sorry. I may have gone a little bit overboard."_

" _Nothing wrong with that," Jared said, chuckling as he stood amongst the pieces. He knelt and picked up a broken spearhead. "I'm curious; this must be the longest training session you've gone through." He smiled at his son. "What's up?"_

" _Nothing," Richard said quietly._

" _Right," Jared said, rolling his eyes again, "because the perennially lazy son is suddenly eager to do so much training." He paused, his expression becoming serious. "The assassination weighs on you."_

 _Richard clucked his tongue. "Seeing a respected member of the Huntsman community brutally murdered in front of you does tend to put a_ bit _of a damper on one's mood."_

" _I understand," Jared said quietly. "During the war, I saw a lot of good Huntsmen and Huntresses die. Many of whom I greatly respected. For Glynda Goodwitch to be assassinated, though…" He let out a sigh. "There's a woman I never expected to die like that."_

" _Yeah, well, I don't think she did either," Richard said too blithely, checking his weapon as he did so. He scowled. "And now Atreides needs a service. Think I jammed a servo."_

" _I can have the armourers look her over," Jared offered._

" _No, I should do it myself," Richard said quietly._

 _Jared nodded, smiling approvingly. "I'm glad to see you finally taking a more responsible approach to life."_

 _Richard gave his father a sidelong glance. "What do you mean by_ that _?"_

 _There was a pause, and Jared sighed._

" _Do I have to say it, son?" he asked. "You_ have _to know what I mean by now."_

 _Richard didn't reply, but he kept his expectant gaze on his father. After a moment, Jared relented._

" _Richard," the Duke said quietly. "You've always treated your title and the titles you_ will _have like they didn't matter. And you know you have."_

" _But that's different," Richard replied, frowning. "To me, the titles don't matter and they never have." He looked away. "But this… the killing of Beacon's headmistress -"_

" _Taking the matter seriously is a laudable step," Jared said. "I'm just hoping you choose to see it as a stepping stone to taking your other responsibilities seriously as well."_

 _Richard sighed quietly, meeting Jared's eyes again. "_ You're _the one who cares about the Landsraad, Father."_

" _And with good reason." Jared's expression hardened. "One day, whether you like it or not, you will be the Duke of House Atreus, responsible for your part in Atlas' makeup. You, like all other House Dukes, Earls and Barons, will be responsible for the preservation of our way of life, the protection of our people."_

" _I know this speech, Father, you've given it ten thousand times," Richard sighed. "Can we skip it? I'd rather not hear it again."_

" _I'm not trying to labour a point too much," Jared said quietly. "Only to remind you that there is a life of responsibility ahead of you, whether you want it or not. I'm more lenient than many of my peers, but that doesn't mean I want you to not pay heed to what_ will _be."_

" _What will be right now is me returning to Beacon," Richard said. "A Beacon that's just been massively shaken up. That's important. A hundred families squabbling over who has the biggest equal share of power doesn't strike me as important by comparison."_

 _Jared sighed. "My son, one day, you will_ have _to see the importance of it. I just hope that when you do, you remember some of what I have tried to impress upon you."_

* * *

Turning his attention from the past, Richard let out a long sigh.

"I'd best get inside," he said to his father.

"Indeed," Jared said, nodding. His face took on a neutral expression that Richard had seen only a few times before. "I had best pay my respects to Professor Arc myself, now that he's the new headmaster. It has been a very long time."

Richard said nothing for a moment: his father's expression was a carefully schooled one, calm and measured and not letting any of his true feelings out. Richard knew it because he had been taught it in his youth - a perfect "Landsraad" expression, designed to hold everything back and keep your political opponents and allies alike guessing as to your exact intentions. Also surprisingly good for poker.

"Alright," he said. "I'll try and call more regularly."

"It would be difficult to call _less_ so," Jared said with an amused smile, before walking off, leaving Richard alone.

Watching his father walk towards the main school building, Richard felt his hand twitch towards a small box in his coat pocket. He pursed his lips and deliberately moved his hand to his trouser pocket, before sighing.

 _You don't need it,_ he said to himself. _You don't. Stay strong._

Repeating this to himself, he headed for the main entrance to the dorms. Hopefully he'd be able to distract himself by talking to someone there.

* * *

There was a loud knocking, and Faye's eyes shot open. She didn't know when she had fallen asleep, but it could not have been that long: the sun was still up.

"Remnant to Faye, come in Faye," a mocking voice said cheerily. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, Faye saw her brother staring at her, his arms crossed as he leant in the doorway.

She scowled at him. "'Gur."

"Was that my nickname or a growl?" Augur asked, chuckling.

"Both," Faye replied, sitting up and glaring at him. "What do you want?"

"Heard Taylor and Ed were back," Augur replied. "Wanted to pop over, say hi. I mean, beats hitting things in the woods. Saw Jo's stuff in JRNE's room - she back?"

Faye looked away from him, feeling a wave of irritation pass over her. "Yeah."

"Wow, dial down the enthusiasm, Sis," Augur said, frowning. "Something up?"

"No," Faye said, a little too quickly. Augur's frown deepened, and she sighed. "Yeah. Kinda. Can't talk about it."

"Must be serious then," Augur said quietly. He sat at the foot of her bed. "You guys ok?"

"Yes and no," Faye said quietly. "I… I'm not sure I can talk about it with you, 'Gur. It's complicated."

"Something to do with when Dad went to go see her?" Augur asked. At Faye's glower, he held up both hands. "Alright, alright." He paused. "But… are you guys _ok_? You've not, y'know…"

Faye raised an eyebrow. "No, I don't."

Augur sighed, before standing up and checking back in the hallway. When he was satisfied that it was empty outside their dorm, he sat back down.

"Did you ask her out?" he asked bluntly.

Faye blinked. "No." She scowled. "What the hell kind of a question is that?"

"What?" Augur asked, shrugging. "You look miserable. I assumed -"

"You're an _ass_ ," Faye hissed, standing up. "Olympus above, what kind of fucking question is _that_?!"

"Hey, you've been pining after her for _months_!" Augur pointed out. "Being miserable 'cause you asked her out and it went to shit sounded like the most likely option to me!"

"Yeah, well, that's not what happened," Faye said, calming down a little. "It was… it… ah, shit." She sat back down again. "I can't even talk about it, 'Gur."

"Why not?" Augur asked. "Serious shit?"

Faye rolled her eyes. "Seriously. With tact like that, it's a good job you're a Huntsman, because you'd be a terrible psychiatrist."

"Hey, what are twin brothers for, eh?" he asked, elbowing her in the side. She glowered at him again. "But hey. When you want to talk about it - or, y'know, when you _can_ talk about it - I'll be here, yeah?"

Despite herself, Faye chuckled. "Yeah. Thanks, 'Gur."

"Anytime, sis," Augur replied, winking.

* * *

Jaune didn't turn as the elevator door pinged, nor did he turn as footsteps approached his desk.

"Jared," Jaune said quietly. "Or would you prefer me to call you Duke Atreus, now?"

"Only if you want me to call you 'Professor Arc'," the voice of Jared Atreus said, his tone full of easy, familiar humour. "Which I doubt you would."

Jaune smiled, and turned to look at the Duke. He blinked in surprise at the sight: Jared Atreus when he had known him had been young, vigorous, with a scruffy streak (not unlike his son, now Jaune thought on it). Now, Atreus was smartened up, his jacket neat and pressed, his beard trim and tidy.

"You've changed, too," Jared said, as though reading Jaune's thoughts.

"Time'll do that to you, I guess," Jaune said quietly. "Though you look better than I do."

"Oh, I dunno," Jared said, tilting his head. "I happen to think the eyepatch is pretty distinctive."

Jaune chuckled. "Pyrrha thinks I suit it, too." He sobered slightly. "But seriously: what can I do for you?"

"I'd ask 'can't I come and say hello to an old friend', but I suspect you'd see through it," Jared said wryly. "No eye joke intended."

"Good, because that would be one of the lamer ones," Jaune said, smiling again. "Alright, Jared. What can I do for you?"

"A few things," Jared said. "May I sit?"

"Of course," Jaune replied, motioning to a chair. "A drink?"

"D'you still have any of Glynda's wine reserve?" Jared asked, his expression softening.

Jaune gave a bitter smile. "A whole three bottles. You can have them, if you like. I was never into wine."

Jared held up a hand. "Just a glass for now, if you please."

Jaune nodded, and retrieved a slender bottle and a chunky glass from the cupboard.

"You don't mind the beer glass, do you?" Jaune asked as he poured a drink. "I, uh…" He held up his metal hand. "Broke all the wine glasses trying to move them. This thing's a piece of crap."

"I could have a replacement delivered?" Jared asked, smiling. "For your leg as well, if you like."

"Nah," Jaune said quietly, sliding the now-full glass to the Duke. "I'm used to these things. Besides, I get into enough heavy fighting that I could never afford the repair work."

"It would be no trouble," Jared insisted, picking up his glass and sniffing. "Call it a… repayment of good works. You've been teaching my son, after all." He took a deeper inhale. "Ah, this is good wine."

Jaune shrugged. "I can always look at them, I guess." He smiled wryly. "But you didn't come here to talk about my prosthetics."

"Or the wine," Jared said with a grin. He took a drink and tasted the wine softly, measuring it before finally swallowing. "Though it is a good vintage."

"I'll have to take your word for it," Jaune said with a grin as he took a drink of his own wine. "So how about you tell me what you're really here for, Jared?"

Jared paused, before finishing his glass. "Has Porter being doing a decent job?"

"More than decent, actually," Jaune said. He leant back in his chair. "I know you… _recommended_ him because you wanted someone to look after your son."

"Ah, yes," Jared said, smiling wryly. "I did sort of insist, actually. But, well, can you blame me?" His smile faded. "After all, we live in unsafe times."

"We will _always_ live in unsafe times," Jaune pointed out.

"Also true," Jared said quietly. He sighed. "I was hoping to confirm that his posting still stands: I know I can't expect you to honour your predecessors commitments based purely on them being your predecessor's commitments."

Jaune shrugged. "Porter does good work, and he came highly recommended. I'm happy for him to stick around."

"I'm glad," Jared said, smiling. His smile faded. "However… I'm afraid I must ask _another_ favour."

Jaune raised an eyebrow. " _Another_ one?"

"Yes," Jared said, hissing the word slightly as though embarrassed. "You see, I happen to know that Glynda scheduled this term's first year training missions for before the solstice. I was hoping you could put Richard's team - team JRNE, was it?" Jaune nodded. "I was hoping you could put them with Porter. Make sure he can keep an eye on them, that sort of thing. Maybe swing it so that they go on a relatively painless mission."

Jaune frowned at the request. "That's… usually not entirely my call. I know that Glynda preferred giving students the choice of missions, like Ozpin did."

"I don't expect you to assign every team a specific mission," Jared said seriously. "Just this one."

"May I ask why, at least?" Jaune asked.

Jared smiled. "I approved Richard being here, because I thought it would be good for him. Allow him to learn a sense of responsibility. It's had… _mixed_ results, but I still feel it's a good step." His smile dropped. "But he is my son. The heir to the House Atreus. I appreciate that he is becoming more responsible, but I won't allow his life to be at risk."

Jaune took a deep breath. "So you expect me to play favourites among the students. Give one preferential treatment."

"I realise it does not appeal," Jared said, smiling again. "But then, team JRNE does have an interesting roster, does it not?"

Jaune felt his face pale, and his eye widened. "Interesting roster."

"Don't be coy," Jared said more seriously. "Leaving aside the last Schreiten and Richard himself, I know who the leader of your team is."

"You do?" Jaune asked quietly.

Jared chuckled. "I helped you get out of the legal mess you and Ruby Rose created by kidnapping her, didn't I? You didn't seriously think that I wouldn't keep track of 'Jo Xiao Long' after that, if only to know what my efforts had wrought?"

"I would have thought you had better things to do," Jaune said quietly.

"Under normal circumstances," Jared agreed, "but this isn't a normal circumstance." He leant back in his chair. "To sweeten the deal for my request, I do have an offer."

"An offer?" Jaune repeated.

"Yes," Jared said, smiling. "Soren has never stopped waiting. He has developed and trained the other Jordis prototypes."

Jaune nodded. He had already guessed as much - he knew Jordis 008 couldn't have been the only one that was ready.

"He'll keep searching for her," Jared continued, "and when he gets her, there will be political… problems for you. The Landsraad is still fractious enough that you could be spinning your wheels in the red tape for years trying to get things done officially."

"You're offering your support," Jaune concluded.

"Precisely," Jared said, grinning. "Support you'll need. All I ask in return is a little… gerrymandering, shall we say."

Jaune sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright, Jared. You've made your case. I'll see what I can do."

"All I can ask," Jared said easily, standing up. "Do let me know if they give you the position permanently, by the way."

"The headmaster position?" Jaune asked, frowning again. "I haven't heard much."

"Well, hopefully that will change soon," Jared said, smiling wryly. "You never know."

"No," Jaune said as Jared headed for the elevator. "I guess you don't."


	8. Seven: Abomination - Part 3

**Seven**

 **Abomination - Part 3**

* * *

 **Beacon Academy, 31st October (Grimmstag), year 106 ABC (After the Battle of Calenhad).**

The dormroom was much the same as it had been when the teams had left for the half term, and Erika Schreiten took a moment to sit herself on her bed and sigh. She glanced down at her muddy boots, and with a grimace, slipped them off, putting them next to the bed and sighing again. She slipped her green leather coat off and tossed it over the edge of the bed, before laying her head down on the pillow and closing her eyes, idly scratching one of her wolf ears while she was at it.

It had been a decent enough break: she had visited a few forests, honed her tracking, killed a few dozen Grimm… about the only thing she hadn't managed to do was track her grandfather, but she wasn't too worried about that. He always made it hard for others to follow him.

There was a soft knock at the door. Her ears twitched, and she opened her eyes, to see Richard staring at her.

"I hope I'm not disturbing," he said quietly.

"No," she replied, sitting up. "I just got back. Haven't had chance to settle in, yet."

He nodded, and moved to sit on his own bed. "Fair enough." He sighed. "Good break?"

"Fairly," she replied without elaborating. "Yours?"

"Oh, not too bad," Richard replied, snorting. "Went home after all."

"I thought you had planned to stay," Erika said, frowning.

"My father wanted to _talk_ ," Richard replied, shrugging.

Erika tilted her head. "What about?"

Richard rolled his eyes. "Our usual conversations, mostly. Though they got spiced up a bit, what with him wanting to discuss my… _issues_."

Erika wrinkled her nose. "The MindDust."

"Yeah," Richard said, smirking at her, "which you can imagine was a fun few days."

"Well, as long as you get off it," Erika said quietly. "What did he say?"

"Oh, the usual stuff," Richard said airily, waving a hand. "'Responsibility to Atlas', 'honour of the family', 'I can have X person see to some sort of rich person solution', 'not angry, just disappointed…'" He sighed, before flopping back onto his bed. "I guess it was better than shouting."

"I suppose it would be," Erika said quietly. She frowned. " _Can_ he help?"

"I don't know, maybe?" Richard said with a dismissive gesture. "His scientists are the ones who made the damn stuff. Maybe he'll make them concoct a version without the narcotic effects."

Erika's nose wrinkled again. "And would you take it?" Richard didn't answer. "Well?"

He sighed, before sitting up, his expression uncharacteristically serious. "When I went home, I went to the training rooms in our estate for the first time in a year, and I must've destroyed about eight million in training drones."

Erika raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Money to burn."

"Beats punching a punching bag to shit," Richard said with a snort. His expression became morose. "Glynda Goodwitch was killed right in front of us."

Erika nodded slowly. "Yes, she was."

"That's a sign," Richard said, meeting her eyes. "It _has_ to be, doesn't it? That something worse than what we expect is on the horizon?"

"More troubled times ahead," Erika said, nodding. "The thought _had_ crossed my mind."

Richard sighed, before taking a small box from his coat. He held it out to Erika, and she scowled at it.

"You still have it," she said.

"Of course I do," he replied. "About three doses worth. Porter never confiscated it." His expression softened. "I… want you to keep it somewhere safe."

"Why me?" Erika asked, frowning at him.

"Well, you _are_ my partner," Richard said with a chuckle, but the mirth died on his face. "I… I feel like I'm going to _need_ it."

Erika frowned. "That's what an addict would say."

"You think I don't know that?!" Richard snapped, but he took a breath and calmed himself before he could continue, and Erika let him. "It's still a combat stimulant. And it'll be more effective now that I've been off it for a while." He pursed his lips. "I hope."

Erika looked at the box, before putting it down on the bed.

"You want me to judge when you'll really 'need' it." It wasn't a question.

"Yes," he replied. "I… look, I trust myself, but you don't." At her frown he snorted derisively. "Don't lie. I _know_ you don't. Heck, if I was in a better state of mind, I might _agree_ with you. If I can't trust _you_ to know when I actually need it… I don't know who I _can_ trust."

Erika nodded slowly. "Alright, Richard. I'll put it somewhere safe."

Richard nodded. "Thanks, Erika. I appreciate that." He slumped back on his bed. "Well, the good news is, nothing can get any worse this time."

Erika rolled her eyes. "You _know_ that saying that is just tempting fate."

"Yup," he said with a chuckle, "But 'there is no fate but what we make for ourselves'."

"Oh?"

"Old family saying." Richard shrugged. "Fitting, though. We're all making our own fate here."

Erika lay her head back on her pillow. "If you say so, Richard."

* * *

Jaune walked up to the guest rooms on autopilot. His mind was racing, full of questions and doubts. It was only when he reached the guest room and knocked that he realised where his legs had taken him, and he gave a small smile as his wife opened the door. Her long red hair was cascading down her shoulders, and she was dressed in a light blue training gi, the shape of which left enough to the imagination for Jaune's mind to begin racing with possibilities. She was pale, and her eyes were bloodshot.

"Well," she said, grinning at him. "Hello, stranger. What are you doing here?"

"Well," Jaune said, leaning on the doorway, "I heard that a beautiful woman lived here, and I thought I'd have to come see for myself."

"Careful, Mister," she said in a sultry tone, placing a finger on his chest and grinning up at him. "You wouldn't want my husband to catch you in here. He'd get _terribly_ jealous."

"Oh, I'm sure I could take him," Jaune said easily. "I've heard he's a bit of a wimp."

Pyrrha's smile faded, and she smacked him lightly in the chest. "Will I never train you out of that?"

"Out of what?" Jaune asked, chuckling.

"Putting yourself down," Pyrrha said. "It's not good for you."

"Hey, I think I've got worse problems," Jaune said, as Pyrrha stepped aside and let him into the guest room.

"Speaking as _one_ of said problems, I'd have to agree, but it's still not good for you to put yourself down like that," Pyrrha said evenly.

Jaune turned to look at her, his own smile gone. "You are _not_ one of my problems."

Pyrrha snorted. "I'll take your word for it, dear." She sighed. "I had a horrible dream."

"Oh?" Jaune asked, as Pyrrha went over to one of the cupboards.

She took a bottle of an ugly green liquid out, as well as a shotglass. She poured a drink of the ugly stuff, and downed it in one go, wincing as she did so. The colour of her skin seemed to darken and become less bloodless, and she closed her eyes.

"I dreamed," she began, "that I was trapped, that I couldn't move. I was… I was _angry._ So I broke out." She looked at him. "And I… I saw you. You tried to talk me down." Her lower lip trembled, and her brow creased in a sudden distraught expression. "And I _killed_ you."

"Hey, hey," Jaune said, walking up to her and wrapping his arms around her. "It was just a nightmare."

"Maybe," Pyrrha whispered, her eyes closed as she lay her head against his chest. "But we had a close call a few weeks ago."

"Then we'll be more careful," Jaune said quietly.

"How long can we _be_ more careful?" Pyrrha asked, looking up at him. "How long can we _afford_ to be more careful, instead of just.., of just…"

He frowned down at her. "Instead of just what?"

She looked away from him. "I don't want to think about it. I only just had my dose, I don't want to stress myself into needing another one." She looked up and smiled. "So, did you come just to say hi, or…"

"Partly," he admitted. "And partly because I need the advice of my better half."

She chuckled. "The great Professor Jaune Arc needs my advice? Shocking."

"The entirely mediocre Jaune Arc would love the advice of the wise and beautiful Pyrrha Nikos," Jaune replied, moving to one of the armchairs in the guest room and sitting down. "If she's happy to give me some."

"Always," Pyrrha said easily. She sat down opposite him. "So. What do you need my advice with, Professor?"

* * *

Jo was sat on a bench in the grounds, her cape loosely slung around her shoulders. Part of her wondered if she should stop wearing it: it was, after all, just another reminder of what she was, of what she _wasn't._

 _I should talk with Faye again,_ she thought. _I need to feel… need…_

Her brain didn't keep the words going. She wondered if there was any way she could possibly begin to process what she had been told, any way she could even begin to feel like anything other than a freak.

She felt a soft tapping on her shoulder, and she turned, blinking in surprise at the sight of the girl who was smiling at her. She wore a simple tank-top with baggy cargo pants, and she had a pair of hammers holstered at her side.

"Nova," Jo said quietly. She forced herself to smile at her partner. "How was the holiday?"

Nova shrugged, before holding up a hand and making a 'so-so' gesture. She pointed at Jo.

"Mine? Eh," Jo said, shrugging in turn. "It was… well, it…" She sighed. "It's complicated."

Nova gave her a quizzical expression.

"I'll tell you another time," Jo promised. "I don't really feel up to talking about it just now." She paused. "Where are the others?"

Nova shrugged, before motioning in the direction of the Hall.

"You going to the Grimmstag Eve service?" Jo asked, frowning. "I didn't know you were into that stuff."

Nova shrugged. "Parents."

Jo nodded slowly, before sighing and standing up. "Alright, then. Hey, I guess it's worth me trying to find my spiritual side anyway. Gods know I could use a little guidance right now."

Nova gave her another quizzical glance, but Jo ignored it as they headed to the hall.

When they got there, they were greeted by the sight of a single table, draped with a thousand candles upon it. Many of them were lit, but there were many more unlit, and more unlit candles on nearby tables waiting. There were also a few piles of blank paper, and a few dozen pens.

Nova stepped forward first: she took one of the unlit candles, scribbled something on one of the blank piece of paper, and then lit the candle. She held her piece of paper over the candle, and didn't let go until it had burnt to cinders.

"Whose name did you write?" Jo asked quietly.

Nova smiled. "Mother's."

Jo nodded, before frowning. The Grimmstag tradition was to write the name of one you love whom you thought needed protection from the Gods, and to burn the name so that the spirits of air and fire would carry the name to the home of Olympus himself. Jo had never put much stock in it… but now, of course, things were different.

Quietly, she wrote a name on a piece of paper, before picking an unlit candle and gently lighting it. She hesitated, before letting the name burn up, the ashes floating gently away in the heat of the fire.

"Who?" Nova asked.

 _Faye Kismet Arc,_ Jo thought, but she just smiled. "Someone I love."

Nova nodded, and gave a small smile, seemingly understanding.

* * *

When Jaune had finished explaining about Jared Atreus' visit, Pyrrha looked thoughtful.

"There's a lot to consider," she said finally. "Having his help if Jo should be captured might be useful."

"Probably, yeah," Jaune said, leaning his head back. "By the Gods, Pyrrha. I thought our _own_ kids would be the handful."

"They are," Pyrrha assured him with a wry smile. "But they're _our_ handful. You know Faye has a thing for Jo?"

"A - what?" Jaune asked, blinking in confusion. "A _thing_? Seriously?"

"Well, yeah," Pyrrha said, frowning. "You haven't noticed?"

Jaune sighed apologetically. "I've barely had time to speak to her since this term started."

Pyrrha clicked her tongue. "You need to try and be better with that."

"Yeah," Jaune said quietly. "I really do." He sighed. "So - when were you planning to head back?"

"Trying to get rid of me so soon, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked with a wry smile.

"The opposite, actually," Jaune said quietly. "I was hoping you could stay: maybe run a few lectures?"

Pyrrha blinked in surprise. "You… you want _me_ to do lectures?"

"If it's not too much trouble," Jaune said, nodding. "A few extra lessons from the 'Invincible Girl', one of the heroes of the Wall… well, people appreciate stuff like that."

Pyrrha smiled. "I would be honoured."

"Excellent," Jaune said, grinning. "Now, then - _if_ that's out of the way. There were a few other things I thought we could… _discuss_."

Pyrrha's grin widened, and she stood up. "Of course, Professor. Follow me."

Jaune stood as well as Pyrrha walked towards the bedroom, slipping off her gi as she went. He smiled wryly to himself.

 _Y'know,_ he thought, _in some ways, we didn't do too badly in the end._

* * *

When Jo and Nova got back to the team JRNE dormroom, Erika and Richard were already there, both asleep. Nova made a quick 'shushing' motion with her finger, and went to the bathroom, no doubt to get changed.

Jo sighed as she regarded her friends. It had been a nice break, but she was glad it was over.

"Hey," a voice said quietly from behind her. She turned to see Faye looking at her from team FATE's room. "You ok, Jo?"

Jo smiled. "Yeah. I guess."

"Where'd you go off to?" Faye asked.

"Oh, the grounds," Jo said quietly. "Needed to clear my head. Do some thinking."

Faye nodded. "I get that feel." She motioned down the corridor. "You do Grimmstag prayer yet?"

"Yeah," Jo said, smiling. "You?"

"Oh, nah," Faye replied with an easy smile. "Haven't done one since I was a little girl." Jo didn't drop her smile, but Faye held up both hands in a placating gesture anyway, as though sensing her feelings. "I know, I know, it's good luck to do it. I guess I just always thought I'd make my own."

"That's fair, I guess," Jo said, smiling again. "I never used to do them either. Just, y'know, this year…"

"Totally get ya," Faye nodded. "It's all a big shitshow so far, huh?"

"Little bit," Jo said, her smile turning a little wry. "Some bits have made it worth it, though."

"Oh yeah?" Faye asked, folding her arms. "Like what?"

Jo winked. "Wouldn't you like to know. Night."

She turned and closed the door to JRNE's room before Faye could reply, and gave a soft whispered laugh. She couldn't believe she had played _that_ kind of line. She felt stupid, but at the same time exhilarated. She blinked when she realised Nova was staring at her from the bathroom door.

"What?" Jo asked.

Nova grinned, before heading to her bed.

"What?" Jo repeated.

* * *

 **Jordis Program Compound, 1st November, year 106 ABC (After the Battle of Calenhad).**

008 stood to attention as Father paced up and down in front of her and her siblings. Next to her, she could feel the tension radiating from 006, the girl's white hair identical to hers, and her twin white cat ears twitching. Compared to the statues that the rest of her siblings might as well have been, 006 was a visibly nervous wreck.

On her other side, 004 was tense too, but for different reasons. Of all of them, 004 had been the least forgiving of 008's failure to bring 001 home: 008 knew that she, too, was eager for the return of their long lost sister. Although judging from how eagerly she had been training, 008 was convinced she was more eager to just get out of the compound.

"Children," Father said, and 008 stopped her musing immediately. "We know where One is." This they already knew. "But she has forgotten who she is." This, too, they already knew. Each of them had rigorously interrogated 008 in the way only siblings could. "And so we must bring her back by force."

There was no change in how any of the siblings stood, save for 006's ears suddenly stopping dead still. That might as well have been shouting.

"We will monitor the situation and decide the best time to send a strike group," Father said. He met each of their eyes in turn. "And we will consider carefully whom we send."

008 stepped forward. "Permission to speak, Father."

He looked at her with a neutral expression. "Of course, Eight."

"Send me," 008 said. She felt the others staring at her, but she ignored it. "I could not bring her before. I wish to rectify this."

"Father," 004 spoke up, stepping forward. "I volunteer to accompany Eight."

"Explain your reasons," Father said to 004.

"She was engaged by trained Huntsmen when she tried to take One," 004 replied. "It seems clear that this task will require more than one of us to go."

Father chuckled. "Since you seem to have a strong grasp of the situation, perhaps you'd like to recommend a third member of the team?"

004 realised her mistake immediately, bowing her head, she stepped back.

"I've overstepped," she said quietly. "I apologise."

"No," Father said. "You are right. I should have realised One would not come willingly, and that others who do not understand her would try to 'protect' her." He looked at 008. "It is I who should apologise to _you_ , Eight. You should never have been sent alone. And I should have authorised more force from the beginning. I have made your jobs that bit harder."

There was a pause as the others regarded this. Father rarely made mistakes, but when he did he always admitted them: just another reason to admire him.

"Alright, Four and Eight," he said after a moment. "Four, select a third teammate. We will discuss mission plans soon."

"Yes, sir," 004 said, nodding.

"Dismissed," Father said, before turning and walking out of their chambers. There was a moment, and then 004 let out a sigh.

"Can't believe you get a _second_ go," she said to 008. "You fucked up enough the first time."

She stalked over to her bed, and 006 patted 008 on the shoulder.

"Don't think about it," she said. "You'll get the chance to bring her back."

008 nodded, giving her sister a smile. Like her, 006 felt the loss of 001 keenly.

"Just don't blow this one," 002 said grimly. He was scowling at the pair of them. "Four will probably choose Three or Five. You'll have all the 'support' you'll need."

008 nodded. "Yes."

There was nothing more to say.


	9. Eight: What Once Was

**Eight**

 **What Once Was**

* * *

 **Beacon Academy, 1st November, year 106 ABC (After the Battle of Calenhad).**

Jaune looked up from his desk as Toshiro Mono stepped out of the elevator into his office.

"'Shiro," Jaune said, smiling. "How are you? How was your Grimmstag?"

"The day was uneventful," Mono replied evenly. "Generally speaking, Dreizan Templars do not celebrate the Grimmstag as Valesians do."

Jaune nodded, his smile turning into a smirk. "Well, I'm glad it was uneventful for you, then." His smile faded. "Did you manage to get in contact with anyone?"

Mono nodded slowly. "A number of Templars and ex-Templars. I even contacted Nox Skye, much good that did me."

"No joy?" Jaune asked. Nox Skye was notoriously forbidding.

"Grand Patriarch Skye and I have our… _disagreements_ ," Mono replied, speaking slowly, and Jaune sensed he was being diplomatic when he used the term 'disagreements'. "But he and I both share our desire to maintain peace. Nevertheless, he has no leads on the source of our current problems." He sighed. "He has promised to forward any information he receives, so that may prove a start."

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, a start. Better than nothing, 'Shiro, good work."

Mono inclined his head. "Is there other business?"

"Just school business," Jaune said quietly. He brought up a display. "I've been thinking about this year's student missions, in fact."

Mono frowned. "Ah, yes. That's important. But wouldn't that be something you need to discuss with your deputy?"

Jaune blinked, his eye widening in surprise. "Well… yeah, 'Shiro."

Mono paused, as though considering what Jaune was implying, and then he nodded. "I'm honoured, Professor Arc. Though I must admit, I would have expected you to choose Professor Valkyrie, given your long-standing association."

"I won't lie and say I didn't consider Nora," Jaune replied evenly. "But she's got a lot of commitments. And, y'know. Is Nora. Have you ever seen her paperwork?"

Mono nodded. "Then I will do my best to serve. And turn in legible paperwork."

"'Preciate that, 'Shiro," Jaune said with a smile. "So: any thoughts?"

"Several," Mono said, nodding, "if you have the time to hear them."

"Always, 'Shiro," Jaune said, motioning for his new deputy to sit.

"Alright, then," Mono said, sitting opposite Jaune. "There are, of course, always standard patrol missions that could serve well as proving grounds for the first year teams. I know team AGSN would do well in such a field."

"AGSN, yeah," Jaune said, nodding slowly. The name brought up a vague memory of reading about a group of students who worked together to take down a Deathstalker. "They've been working at a consistently high level, right?"

"Indeed," Mono said, nodding. "But there are other reports that could serve usefully as dual-purpose missions."

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Dual purpose missions?"

"There are rumours of White Fang in the ruins of Mountain Glenn," Mono elaborated. "Barely corroborated, but given that their efforts there during the initial stages of the 'Insurrection' were highly damaging…"

"Sending someone to check it out would be a prudent course of action," Jaune finished, nodding. "I see your point. Gotta ask, though," he added, looking up at Mono, "how 'barely' is 'barely'?"

Mono paused, considering the question. "My sources seem trustworthy to me, after our long association with each other. They… would _not_ seem so to others"

Jaune winced. "I see." He took a deep breath. "Well, I trust you. So I trust your sources."

Mono inclined his head. "I appreciate that trust, Professor."

Jaune smiled. Truth be told, given that he had some 'unusual' sources himself, having a problem with Mono having some of his own seemed to be a bit of a hypocritical thing. And Jaune hadn't lied when he said he trusted Mono, either.

"Well, if you don't have any more suggestions, 'Shiro," Jaune began.

"Actually," Mono said, "there is one other mission that I have been considering."

"Oh?" Jaune asked, p both eyebrows rising to meet his hairline.

Mono shifted in his seat slightly. "It has been more than twenty years since we retreated from outer Vale and took to the Wall."

Jaune nodded slowly: he remembered that time all too well. "That's right."

Mono sighed. "You'll recall that I was with you during that battle. As was Professor Bartholomew Oobleck."

"I recall, yes," Jaune said slowly, frowning. Oobleck had died outside the Wall, holding the Grimm back while others retreated to hold the Wall itself. "What were you thinking?"

"We never retrieved the Professor's remains," Mono said shortly. "I wish to do all I can to rectify this. Given that we still have not reclaimed those areas, a first year group supported by a teacher can search the area for his body, or at least his weapon." A small flicker of emotion crossed his face. "I believe I owe him that."

Jaune frowned. "You still blame yourself."

"I was reckless and impulsive during that battle," Mono said, his tone matter-of-fact. "It _was_ my fault, at least partially. Of that, there is no question in my mind."

 _You and I have a different take on 'no question', 'Shiro,_ Jaune thought.

"I'll add it to the mission list," he said quietly. "You understand, I'll need to consider carefully which mission _you_ go on."

"Of course," Mono said. "If there is nothing else, Professor."

He stood up, and Jaune stood as well.

"There is one thing," Jaune said quietly. "How's the school's security?"

Mono frowned. "Increased. We have more sensors up to prevent unauthorised approach, and I have begun planning drills for the staff to undergo." He snorted. "I was also going to begin insisting that my colleagues and I submit to mandatory practicing." He scowled. "When that assassin murdered the Headmistress… we were sloppy. It was a _shameful_ display."

Jaune nodded. "You've got my go ahead to arrange any drills and practice you think the staff or students require."

"Thank you," Mono said, bowing slightly. "I will take my leave, Headmaster."

As Mono headed back to the elevator, Jaune input a quick command into his computer, and brought up a display, showing a list of various missions that Glynda had already had on file. Sighing, he tapped the 'new entry' button and entered in the details of Mono's first mission - the rumours of White Fang.

 _That's all we need,_ Jaune thought to himself. _The Fang should have been done by now._

He entered the other new entry as well, before sighing and leaning back.

 _This,_ he thought, _is going to be an_ interesting _few months._

* * *

 **2nd November.**

 _The one good thing about Professor Mono's afternoon lessons,_ Jo thought as she sat scribbling notes on the fight she was watching, _is that it's a chance to let off some steam._

She was currently watching Faye sparring with Erika. Mono had specifically selected Faye ("You were one of the students who engaged the assassin! Commendable, but to survive such an effort in future, you must train _harder_!") and Faye had asked to spar Erika (because _of course_ she had, the two of them were practically best sparring buddies at this point).

It was always interesting, seeing the two of them fight. Jo was happy to admit that she had zero knowledge of weapons, having always favoured the boxing moves her father had taught her. That being said, watching Erika and Faye duel was like watching two dancers engaged in a beautiful, choreographed performance. Erika's strikes were slower and heavier, but her footwork was nimble and her parries always left Faye open to a counterstrike. By comparison, Faye's strikes were quicker and lighter, but her footwork was a little plainer.

Jo's eyes wandered over Faye as the red-headed girl parried and stabbed. Her armour wasn't form fitting, but it was slim and still showed off her powerful, athletic figure. The way the light of the room glinted off of her shining red hair as it flew around her head was captivating, and the way she moved… every strike so powerful, so expertly handled…

She shook her head, and scribbled a note about how proficient she found Faye's form ( _no, no, not_ that _form, her swordplay… no, that sounds worse…)._ She looked up, just in time to see Erika and Faye clashing, Erika's longsword Greenstone and Faye's broadsword Tower sparking as they met. Faye grinned, and brought Guardian, her shield up, breaking the deadlock, before smacking Erika in the face with the butt of Tower and forcing her to stumble back. Frustrated, Erika lashed out wildly, but Faye parried the blow with ease.

Regaining her balance, Erika settled into a defensive stance, one hand straying to the dagger at her belt. As Faye charged at her again, the wolf-Faunus threw her dagger out, forcing Faye to hesitate momentarily to dodge the blow. That brief hesitation was all Erika needed to dash forward, sweeping Greenstone upwards at Faye and forcing her to bring Guardian up to block the strike. She staggered backwards, and Erika lunged, only for Faye to dodge to the side, bat the top of Greenstone to the ground with Guardian, and then bring Tower to Erika's throat.

"Give up yet?" she asked with a grin.

Erika just smiled back, and her hand twitched. Suddenly her dagger was back in her hand, aimed squarely below Faye's rib cage.

"Only if you do," she said lightly, her expression not changing.

Faye looked down, and then met Erika's eyes with a more vicious grin.

"Nice one," she said.

"Alright!" Toshiro Mono's voice called out across the sparring arena. He strode towards the two. "That is clearly a tie!"

Erika and Faye disengaged, Faye still grinning. Erika looked her sword over, before sheathing it. Mono stopped in front of the two. He looked at Erika first.

"Improvisational and adaptive," he began, nodding thoughtfully, "but you still allowed yourself into a position where you were trapped." He turned to Faye. "And you had your opponent in a position where you could have theoretically emerged victorious, but instead allowed her to force a tie by ignoring her secondary weapon for the _second_ time in as many minutes." He snorted. "A competent display overall, but the two of you need to improve _drastically_ in time for the training missions, or you will _not_ be ready. Both of you are awarded five out of ten."

Erika inclined her head, and Faye nodded, her smile gone, replaced by a scowl of disappointment and embarrassment. Both girls sheathed their swords and Faye slung Guardian over her back.

As Faye sat down, Jo turned to look at her, giving her a sympathetic smile.

"I thought you did great out there, both of you," she said, looking over at Erika as well.

The Faunus girl simply nodded, smiling wryly, and Jo suddenly had a paranoid thought that maybe Erika could smell attraction like dogs could smell fear.

 _Is that racist?_ she pondered.

"Thanks, Jo," Faye said, smiling.

"Now, then," Mono said, bringing their attention back to him. He had his arms folded, and was looking right at Jo. "Miss Xiao Long. To the arena."

Jo gulped, before standing up and walking down to the sparring arena, her cape swishing behind her as she did so.

"You are the one who took down the assassin," Mono said to her as she arrived, too quietly for anyone else to hear. "You tapped into some part of your… 'heritage'."

Jo's eyes widened. So he _did_ know! "I… think so, sir."

"Intriguing," Mono said. "Clearly we must test this, in an effort to make what you did come within your control."

Jo swallowed nervously. "I… I don't know if I can."

"We will test that," Mono said, smiling. He looked up at the stands. "Delilah Nacht, Team DSTY."

A tall, dark-haired girl stood up, before walking down to the arena. Jo knew Delilah Nacht, vaguely: they'd done a training session together last half term, and then Delilah had been the one who helped Faye and Jo fight the assassin who had killed Glynda. Judging by the tiniest white scar just above Delilah's upper lip, she hadn't come out of it completely unscathed, but her striking looks and shiny black hair were still unblemished for the most part. Her dark eyes met Jo's.

"Xiao Long," she said evenly.

"Delilah," Jo replied. _Should I have used the first name? I mean, she used my_ last _name, so…_

Delilah smiled. "Good to see you again."

"Uh, yeah," Jo said. "And you."

Like everyone else, Delilah had dressed in her combat attire for this class: a form-fitting set of black body armour, accented in greys, with a tan-yellow leather belt and pads around her shoulders, elbows and knees. Her katana was sheathed at her side, and along a belt on her chest were a number of throwing daggers that Jo knew she could use to deadly effect.

 _Well, that's intimidating,_ Jo thought.

"Take positions," Mono instructed the pair of them.

Jo moved to one side of the sparring arena and took a combat stance. Delilah drew her katana effortlessly, fitting one of her knives to the hilt to add a layer of damage potential. She settled into a combat stance, and smiled at Jo.

 _Alright,_ Jo thought. _This is no big deal. She's not that scary. Just imagine her in her underwear._

The image of Delilah in a set of lacy (and _racy_ ) black underwear came to mind, and Jo blinked.

 _Shit,_ she thought, grimacing. _She's hot._

"Students, begin!" Mono called out.

Immediately, Delilah charged at Jo, bringing her sword up. Jo dodged the first swing, and ducked under a second, before leaping over a third horizontal slash and somersaulting over Delilah's head.

 _The hells?_ Jo thought. _I didn't know I could -_

A sudden impact in her back sent her stumbling forward. Delilah had kicked out at her. Before Jo could react, Delilah had lashed out again, hitting her with the butt of her katana. It was only a split-second later that Jo realised that Delilah had split her dagger from her sword, and then suddenly Delilah was striking at her with both weapons, staggering her and driving her backwards.

 _Under attack,_ some part of her thought, and suddenly something inside her head snapped on. _Training exercise. Aim for victory._

Suddenly, she somersaulted backwards, before adopting a martial arts stance. Delilah came at her, swinging her katana downward, but Jo stepped inside her swing and brought her fist up, connecting with Delilah's jaw and staggering her. Jo kicked out, but Delilah caught the kick, before trying to pull Jo off-balance.

 _Adjust strategy._

Using her hands as leverage, Jo brought her other leg up and kicked Delilah in the head, staggering her again. Getting back on her feet, Jo threw a series of punches that were so fast that Delilah barely blocked them. One punch was fast enough to again break through Delilah's guard, sending her sprawling backwards once more, but the girl managed to roll backwards, before kicking out, sending Jo stumbling back.

Glancing at their respective scores, Jo frowned. Delilah was at sixty five, but Jo herself had been knocked down to fifty nine.

 _Unacceptable._ She felt a wave of irrational frustration _. Adjust strategy._ _ **Win**_ _._

She looked at Delilah, and took a different posture, this one more open than her previous stance. It was an obvious invitation, but one Jo didn't expect Delilah to pass up. Sure enough, the girl smirked, before charging right at her, spinning into a sword slash. Grimacing, Jo caught the edge of the sword, before slamming the palm of her hand into Delilah's solar plexus, winding her, then yanking the blade out of her hand. She threw the weapon away, before charging at Delilah, who proceeded to start throwing her daggers at her. Jo grinned, dodging the daggers one by one, before slamming her shoulder into Delilah and then throwing a haymaker that knocked her backwards.

"Enough!" Mono called out. Jo relaxed immediately, and then winced as she saw Delilah get up, clearly still winded.

"Uh, sorry," she said, moving to help the other girl up.

Delilah just waved her off. "Nah, don't be. That was a good spar."

"That would depend on your definition," Mono said evenly. "Ms Nacht, you had a clear advantage in the opening moments of the fight, and somehow squandered it. Ms Xiao Long," and Jo looked to see him frowning at her. "You must take less time to react, and must sharpen your responses. You cannot always hope that your opponents will leave you the chance to respond."

"Yes, Professor," Jo said, nodding. It was true enough: she _had_ taken a few hits.

 _Unacceptable performance,_ some small, alien part of her whispered.

"Return to your seats," Mono instructed. As Jo and Delilah did so, Mono was already sizing up the students, ready to pick out the next duelling pair.

* * *

After the class, Delilah caught up to Jo.

"That was an impressive display," she said, smiling. "I can see how you managed to take down the assassin last half term."

Jo snorted. "I'm glad you know how I did it, because I sure don't."

Delilah folded her arms. "That right? Just instinct or something?"

Jo felt a blush creep onto her face as she realised that she'd revealed just a little too much. "Something like that, yeah."

"Instinct's always a good start," Delilah said evenly. "But it's always better to try and hone it." She paused. "I could try to help?"

"Help?" Jo repeated, frowning.

"Yeah," Delilah said. "A few more sparring sessions and we could see if we can bring whatever triggers your instinct to the fore, let you control it more."

Jo nodded slowly. "Yeah. Maybe." She nodded. "Yeah, actually, I'd like that."

"Great," Delilah said, smiling. "Next Tuesday, during free period?"

"Can do," Jo said, nodding.

"Great," Delilah said again. "Say training ground three, that's nice and expansive. Gives us plenty of room to play around with."

"See you then," Jo said, smiling and heading off after her team.

* * *

Delilah watched her go, a small frown developing on her face. One of her teammates, Yorik Danes, came up behind her, frowning slightly.

"You see it too, huh?" the blonde-haired boy asked.

"See what?" Delilah asked, frowning at him.

"You remember I told you I saw her save a little girl from a train, once?" Yorik said, motioning in Jo's direction as she and the rest of team JRNE headed off to their dorms. "I thought that she was special, too."

Delilah snorted. "She's got an interesting talent, I'll give her that. I wouldn't go so far as to use the word 'special'."

"Maybe," Yorik shrugged. "All I know is what I see."

* * *

 _She looks right at me,_

 _Her heart begs understanding,_

 _I long to give it._

"Ah," Augur's voice said over her shoulder. "Haikus again, is it?"

Faye gave him the finger, scowling over her shoulder at him. "I just… felt creative today."

"Uh huh," Augur said, rolling his eyes. "Well, just so you know, 'creative' is wanting to talk to you. Alone." He wiggled his eyebrows. "Have fun."

Faye glared at him, before standing up and heading out of their dorm room. Sure enough, the object of her random interest in writing haikus was standing there in the corridor on her own, looking cutely awkward or awkwardly cute, Faye couldn't decide which.

"Jo," she said, grinning. "'Sup?"

"Uh, I wanted to ask your opinion on something," Jo said running a hand through her hair. "If that's, uh, ok."

"Sure," Faye said, frowning. "What is it?"

Jo looked left, then right. "Come on."

She walked a little further down the corridor, and Faye followed, looking over her shoulder. Augur had popped his head out to look where they were going, and she angrily motioned for him to go back inside.

They stopped in a deserted corridor a few metres from their dorm rooms.

"So," Jo said, taking a breath. "I need your advice about… y'know. _Jordis_ stuff."

Faye blinked. "Oh." She nodded. "Whaddya need?"

"When should… I mean, should I… I mean," Jo fidgeted. "I told _you_. Because you're… y'know. _You_." Faye felt her heart skip a beat at that comment. "But what about… y'know, everyone else?"

"That's…" Faye sucked a deep breath in. "That's a good question, and one you need to really think about. I mean…" She ran a hand through her hair. "I mean, I don't even know if you were 'supposed' to tell me. Maybe Dad doesn't want it well known, y'know?"

"Yeah," Jo said, nodding. "It's just… well, I'm going to be doing some sparring with Delilah Nacht, y'know, the girl I sparred today in Toshiro's class?"

"Yeah…" Faye said slowly, a frown coming onto her face. "And?"

"Well," Jo said, chuckling nervously, "I was… well, because I'm going to be fighting her, I thought I should tell her, because… well, when the whole 'Jordis' thing kicks off it's kinda… different from _normal_ me, y'know?"

Faye snorted. "Uh huh. Well, if you want my advice, I'd tell your team and your close friends before… well, some girl you don't talk to as much."

"Yeah," Jo said, nodding. "I, uh… yeah. Guess that makes sense." She paused, "But what do I say about… y'know, when I go…"

"Don't say anything?" Faye asked, shrugging. "She isn't owed an explanation, y'know. Be all polite about it. Like 'I can't talk about it now'. Then maybe later, after you've told your team, maybe, you can tell her."

"Yeah," Jo said, smiling. "Yeah, that's… that's a good plan."

"Glad you like it," Faye said, yawning. "So. Private sparring, huh?"

"Her idea," Jo said apologetically. "I mean, it might work, y'know?"

"I guess," Faye said, shrugging. "I mean, I'd have helped you out there if you'd asked."

"Well, it didn't occur to me," Jo said hurriedly. "I mean, we still could -"

"Hey, hey, don't worry about it," Faye said, smiling at her. "Really. I mean, it's good for you to practice against different people, right? Don't want you to get stale fighting the same old people."

Jo frowned. "You're not the 'same old people'."

"Glad to hear it." Faye sighed. "Anyway, I'd better, y'know, get back to my room. Got to get some rest in for the weapons class. Gonna need all my energy if I'm gonna deal with Professor Valkyrie badgering me into adding a grenade launcher or five to Tower."

Jo chuckled. "Yeah. See you tomorrow?"

"Definitely," Faye said, grinning. She turned and headed back for the dorm room.

Once she was in her room, she lay face down on the bed, and resisted the urge to scream.

"You ok, sis?" Augur's voice asked her.

She didn't even give him the finger. She didn't have the energy.

 _Dammit all,_ she thought.


	10. Nine: All Is Fair…

**Nine**

 **All Is Fair…**

* * *

 **Beacon Academy, November 8th, 106 ABC (After the Battle Of Calenhad).**

When Jo went to the training ground Delilah had specified, she had to agree with Delilah's description of it as 'nice and expensive'. The main arena area was large, and it came with several compartments hidden in the floors, each capable of setting up all sorts of different terrain. Jo wondered just how many different types of training one could do on this ground.

Delilah was waiting for her, dressed in light training clothes: a sleeveless gi (one that was perhaps a bit tighter than Jo would have felt comfortable with), and light, baggy training trousers that let her move freely. She was barefoot as well. She was just doing stretches as Jo approached ( _no, don't look_ ).

"Hey," Jo said, waving.

Delilah straightened up ( _oh thank the Gods_ ) and glanced at Jo, before looking her up and down. Jo looked down, feeling a mite self conscious.

"Bit heavy for training, isn't it?" she asked.

Jo frowned, looking down at what she was wearing: she was dressed in her usual blue overalls and red boots. She'd left her cape off, for once, mainly because she figured it would be a slight hindrance for fighting.

"This is the same thing I always wear," she said, frowning.

"Yeah," Delilah said. "Like I said, a bit heavy for training." She stood up, frowning at Jo appraisingly. "Alright, lose the boots."

Jo's eyebrows shot up. "Uh, ok."

As she reached down and began unzipping the boots, Delilah looked over her overalls.

"Can you, uh," the girl said thoughtfully, "unzip the top half and tie it off around your waist?"

Jo blinked. "Well, uh, yeah, but…"

"Alright, do that," Delilah said, rolling her shoulders.

She began doing some practice punches. Jo sighed, before standing up and unzipping the front of her overalls, bringing the sleeves round and tying them around her waist. Underneath her overalls she wore a very old tank top that had seen better days, with frayed edges and a few old dirt stains from gardening.

"Alright," Delilah said, moving into a combat stance. "So, how do you want to play this?"

Jo settled into her own stance. "Well, I thought you and I could punch each other until one of us stops punching."

Delilah rolled her eyes. "That's hardly going to bring out your whatever-it-is, is it?"

"Well, it might after a couple of minutes," Jo said sheepishly, feeling a blush creep onto her face.

Delilah clicked her tongue. "Fine," she said. "Let's do this."

And suddenly she had charged forward, spinning into a kick that Jo jumped over, before launching a series of punches that Jo blocked with ease.

"Try," Delilah said, throwing another series of strikes, alternating between punching and kicking, "tapping - ugh - into - hah! - that side of - hrr - yourself!"

Jo had blocked or dodged every strike, but she did as Delilah suggested.

 _Ok, uh… target… training?_ she thought. _Uh, objective… not making an ass of myself?_

Whatever part of her triggered the 'Jordis' effect stayed rigorously silent, and Jo grimaced with frustration, before blocking another kick that sent her skidding backwards.

"Alright," Delilah said, frowning. "That's not it, is it?"

"It, uh… isn't working," Jo said awkwardly.

Delilah relaxed, running a hand through her hair. "Why?"

"It's, uh… difficult to explain," Jo said, smiling sheepishly.

Delilah blinked at her in disbelief, before sighing.

"I still don't understand you," she admitted after a minute. "You're not unskilled - a little basic, but not unskilled."

Jo frowned. "Uh… thanks?"

"But in that other fight, you pulled this… this other energy out," Delilah continued. "I don't understand where it comes from."

Jo sighed. "It's… complicated. I don't know if I can talk about it with you."

Delilah frowned. "Some sort of secret?"

"Sort of," Jo said, smiling again. "Sorry."

"Huh," Delilah said, looking thoughtful. "I always thought I was good at secrets. If it's something bad -"

"It's complicated," Jo said at once. "And like I said, I don't think I can't talk about it."

"That's not _quite_ what you said," Delilah pointed out, smirking at her. "But I see your point." She nodded slowly. "Alright, so - clearly, there's something in you that triggers this… instinct, right?"

"Uh, I guess," Jo said quietly.

"Alright," Delilah said again, nodding, "so… what is it?"

Jo blinked. "What is… huh?"

"The trigger, " Delilah clarified, smiling patiently. "What takes you from your 'not all there' mindset to your 'I can beat assassins bloody' mindset?"

"Oh." Jo blinked. "I, uh…" She paused, thinking about it for a moment. "I guess, uh, judging from experience… either getting my ass handed to me or seeing my friends get hurt?"

Delilah looked dubious. "You sure?"

"Well, seeing Faye get hurt is what… uh, 'triggered' me before," Jo explained, her eyes hardening. "When I saw that… that _bastard_ hurt her, I just got -"

"I get the picture," Delilah said. "And the part about getting your ass handed to you?"

"Well…" Jo said, shrugging. "You handed my ass to me, until the… uh, _thing_ … until it kicked in."

Delilah frowned. "Well, I got a couple of hits in."

"That's what I mean, though," Jo said. "I was under attack. You were… well, a threat, so it kicked in."

Delilah nodded, apparently taking all this in.

"Alright then," she said after a moment, and then suddenly she was charging at Jo again, punching her across the jaw, before slamming a fist into her gut and grabbing her by the front of her tank top and throwing her across the room.

Jo rolled along the floor of the arena, before coming to a dead stop. She quickly pulled herself to her feet, but was surprised to see Delilah just standing there, grinning at her.

"What?!" Jo called.

In response, Delilah brought a small control pad out of somewhere on her training gi. Jo was spared from wondering where she had kept that by the fact that suddenly, a series of walls, ramps, and other obstacles began rising from the floor.

Tensing, Jo bent her legs and then jumped up onto one of the many walls, frowning as she looked around for Delilah.

 _Come on, Jordis-stuff,_ she thought to herself. _I kinda need you right -_

An impact knocked into her shoulder, sending her spinning off the wall, and she fell hard to the ground, wincing. She put a hand on the ground, pushing herself up, only for her eyes to widen as Delilah charged right at her, armed with a training sword.

 _Target acquired._

As though a switch had been flipped, Jo felt a host of the Jordis-thoughts make their way through her brain. _Training ground, aim to win: objective, impress target enough to make them cease assault._

Jo _leapt_ , so hard and fast that she flew right above Delilah's charge, somersaulting over her and landing behind her, before turning and rushing at the girl, slamming her elbow so hard into Delilah's back that it threw her into a wall. Jo took a defensive stance, arms raised in front of her, as Delilah rolled and stood back up, her sword raised in a guard stance. The other girl adjusted her stance, and then suddenly dashed forward, bringing the blade of the training weapon down hard. Jo brought her arm up to block, and the training sword _snapped_ , the wood splintering on the girl's arm and shattering into pieces. At Delilah's shocked expression, Jo grinned, before throwing a haymaker that staggered her, and a kick that sent her sprawling to the ground.

"Alright, alright!" Delilah said, raising a hand. "That's more than enough!"

 _Mission accomplished,_ Jo thought, standing straight.

"Where in the _hells_ does that come from?!" Delilah half-shouted, her eyes wide. "I mean… seriously!"

Jo shrugged. "I don't know. I just…" She paused. "I felt under threat. The situation escalated."

"So… it's when the situation is serious enough to make this… this thing come out?" Delilah asked. "Is… is it like a Semblance? Another side of you that only triggers in certain circumstances?"

Jo shook her head. "It's… a lot more complex than that."

"I'll bet," Delilah said, nodding. "Well, well done, then, I guess. That was your first step to finding just how to trigger it on command."

Jo nodded, smiling. "You think I'll be able to?"

"Nothing's impossible," Delilah replied. "And judging by today's progress… you can _definitely_ learn to control it."

* * *

Faye sighed, her mind troubled as she and team FATE sat opposite team JRNE.

There were taking part in a group study session: not the most fun activity, but Faye had learnt that they could be incredibly useful, if only as a productive means of socialising. For example, it had been during one of their early study sessions that she had managed to learn who had made Taylor's coat (it turned out to have been bought from a rather popular Valesian store, something like thirty years before Taylor had been born, and she had only inherited it). She'd also only learned the name of Nova's weapon ('Twintail') because she'd seen the quiet girl write it down once (come to think of it, had she ever heard Nova talk?).

Unfortunately, Faye wasn't focusing too much on the socialising right now. Instead, she was focusing entirely on the expression team JRNE's leader had on her face.

Jo had been sporting a massive grin for the entire half hour of the time that team's FATE and JRNE had been there, and Faye couldn't help but feel a little… concerned.

"Hey, you ok?" Erika asked the girl, sparing Faye from having to. "You look like the wolf who caught the rabbit."

"I'm great," Jo replied, leaning back. "Just great."

"You enjoyed your spar, then?" Richard asked.

"Definitely!" Jo said, nodding. "Learned a lot."

 _Alright,_ Faye thought to herself, _more than a little._

Certainly, Erika's metaphor hadn't helped. Jo _did_ look very happy, considering the fact that it had just been a spar.

 _Supposedly,_ her mind unhelpfully added. _She did say she 'learned a lot'. About what, huh?_

Faye shook her head. That was an unworthy thought, and she felt ashamed of it.

"Hey, you ok?" Jo asked her. "You look upset."

"Oh, no," Faye said, smiling. "I'm fine."

Jo nodded, apparently not convinced, and returned to her studying. Faye swallowed the sigh of frustration that she felt building, and looked back down at the pages in front of them.

Rather typically, the topic of study was history, and Dr Bowman had managed to assign them an essay on the Wall. Faye couldn't help but find it superbly ironic that she was reading about the contributions made by her mother, and the book described Pyrrha Nikos holding the line in one part of the Battle single-handedly.

"Y'know, I swear Dad tells that differently," Augur muttered, pointing to one paragraph.

"Yeah, this stuff is all second-hand, though," Faye replied, shrugging. Her eyes glanced at another photo, this one a blurry image of Ruby Rose next to a blonde woman in a long brown leather coat. Faye felt her heart skip involuntarily as the image on the page reminded her of Jo.

 _She's literally across the table from you,_ Faye chastised herself. _Stop feeling so sorry for yourself._ She glanced up at Jo, who was engrossed in her book, her smile having returned in full force. _Stop feeling jealous, too. She didn't do anything. And she flirted with you the other day, didn't she?_ Faye looked back at her book, trying to reassure herself. _Or maybe she was just teasing you? Or maybe Delilah's more her type - I mean, come on, she is pretty smoking._ Involuntarily, an image of Delilah in lacy black lingerie popped into Faye's head, and she shook her head again, trying to clear the unwelcome image out of her head even as her mind made many, _many_ unflattering comparisons between herself and the other girl.

"Hey, Faye?" Jo's voice asked, and Faye looked up to see the girl giving her a worried expression. "You sure you're ok?"

"Fine," Faye said, closing her book and standing up. "Just need to go get some air. Back in a few."

She walked off at once, the unflattering comparisons continuing. Delilah's eyes were dark and mysterious, her hair shorter and tied back but still silky and smooth. Her figure was as athletic as Faye's, but she was definitely better endowed in some areas. She was also shorter, less intimidating, less boisterous, more enigmatic and…

Faye glanced down involuntarily, and felt a wave of revulsion sweep through her. _What the hell do_ I _have?_ She had inherited her mother's height, hair, and athletic build, her father's eyes, cocky smile and occasionally awkward gait even in her athleticism. Compared to Delilah, she realised to herself, she was nothing any girl would ever go for.

* * *

"She… did not look happy," Richard commented as Faye left the room.

Nova was glancing between the door where Faye had left, and Jo, who was looking at the door with a worried frown.

"She wasn't," Erika commented after a moment. "There were different feelings all over her."

"What, you could smell her fear?" Richard asked, glancing at her with a small, cocky smirk. Erika gave him a withering glare, and his smile faded. "Uh, sorry."

"Not fear," Erika said, ignoring him. "There were dozens of cues. You don't have to be a Faunus to pick up on them."

Jo frowned. "Did I… did I do something?"

She looked at Nova, who shrugged.

"Maybe go after her?" Richard asked. "Might be a good idea?"

Jo nodded slowly, standing. She looked at Augur. "Er, do you think…?"

Augur shrugged. "Don't ask me, man. I'm only related to her, doesn't mean I understand her."

Jo frowned. "That's not really helpful."

"Sorry," Augur said, shrugging. "I think I know what's up, but she'd torture me into the eighth hell if I told you anything."

"That bad, huh?" Richard asked, raising an eyebrow.

"God save us from girls," Augur said, nodding. He paused, before looking at the three girls who were glaring daggers at him each in turn. "Er, sorry ladies."

"He's not wrong," Taylor commented blandly, her nose still in a book. "Women on these teams… _formidable_. Edwin, opinion?"

The dagger eyes turned to the nervy boy, his spectacles perched on the edge of his nose.

"No comment, man," Edwin said, scratching the back of his head and studiously ignoring the stares.

Jo rolled her eyes. "Would going after her be bad?"

"No idea," Augur said, shrugging. "It's… a complicated issue."

"Great," Jo muttered. _Just what I need._ More _complicated. As if I don't have enough 'complicated' right now._

And yet she couldn't bring herself to _not_ go, or indeed to keep being upset.

"You should go after her, too," she said to Augur. "She… might not want to talk to me."

"You're probably right," Augur said, sighing as he stood to go.

Sighing, she moved to go after Faye, her cape swishing behind her as she walked off. Augur moved quicker, giving her a jaunty wave as he strode down a different corridor. Jo sighed, hoping that Faye would be ok.

 _The last thing I need is my…_ She paused, before dropping that line. _The last thing I need is_ her _to be upset._

* * *

Augur found her first. Because of course he did. He had known her for all of their lives, and as much as they rubbed each other, he knew they were all too alike in some ways.

She was sitting on a bench, her head held in her hands, muttering to herself.

"Oh Gods, oh Gods, the girl I like likes another girl, the girl I like is gonna go with this other girl, this other girl is hotter than me…"

"She is pretty hot," Augur said, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Gah!" Faye yelled out, looking up at him, before growling. "YOU ARE NOT HELPING, AUGUR!"

Augur sighed. "Faye, there's no problem."

Faye blinked. "What d'you mean, 'there's no problem'?!"

"I mean, there's no problem," Augur repeated, smiling at her. "You seriously think Jo likes this other girl?"

"You seriously think she doesn't?" Faye retorted, rolling her eyes. "I mean, look at her, she's -!"

"Faye," Augur said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "thank you."

Faye blinked. "For what?"

"For reassuring me that girls don't understand girls any more than I do," Augur said, grinning. He dodged backwards as she swiped a backhand at him, and couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Seriously, though. She doesn't like this Delilah girl."

"And how in the hells do you know _that_?!" Faye asked, scowling at him.

Augur tapped the side of his nose. "I just do. Trust your bro, sis."

Faye rolled her eyes. "Because, of course, you're so great with women."

Augur stuck his tongue out. "Well, if you're gonna be like that, I'll leave you to it."

"Please do," Faye grumped.

Augur sighed, before walking off. It wasn't his fault Faye couldn't see the obvious.

 _I just hope she sees it soon,_ he thought. _Or it's gonna pass her by._

* * *

It was about half an hour later that Jo found Faye in one of the corners of the grounds about five minutes walk from the study room.

"Hey, Faye?" she called.

Faye looked back at her, and gave a small smile that Jo didn't find altogether convincing. "Hey, Jo.

"Did Augur find you?" Jo asked, moving to sit next to her. She could have sworn that Faye flinched. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm cool," Faye said quietly. "Just… y'know. Air. And yeah. 'Gur found me. Good sibling talk. Go team."

"So, uh," the redhead said, "you never told me how your spar with Delilah went."

"Oh, fine," Jo said. She got the impression it wasn't Faye's favourite subject. "Look, I can spar with you if you -"

"Oh, no, no, it's cool," Faye said, smiling. "All good, y'know? And I'm glad you enjoyed it. Get anywhere with… y'know." She looked around, making sure no one was listening. "Your… 'crazy genetic super person' stuff?"

Jo rolled her eyes. "Yes, actually, but that isn't what we're talking about. We're talking about _you_. What's wrong with you?"

Faye sighed. "It… look, it's dumb. I just… y'know, you going off with some girl after you poured your heart out about the whole 'Jordis' thing is a bit… well, it's… y'know."

Jo blinked. She couldn't be saying what Jo thought she was saying, could she?

"So," Faye said, her tone so obviously faux-cheerful that it practically hurt Jo's ears. "What do you think of Delilah, then?"

"What do you mean, 'what do I think of her'?" Jo asked, frowning.

"You know," Faye said, making a vague hand gesture. "What do you think of her?"

"I… well, she's… nice," Jo said, not really sure how the conversation had gotten to this point. "Y'know. A bit enigmatic and stuff. Not really sure why she does the stuff she does..

"And hot," Faye pointed out. "Don't forget that part."

Jo blinked. _But - why would she…?_

"Oh, c'mon, don't tell me you didn't notice," Faye continued, chuckling. "I mean…" Her smile twitched slightly. "You… you _did_ notice, didn't you?"

 _What is this conversation?_

"I mean…" Jo said out loud, her mind buzzing with confusion, "yeah, kinda. But… I mean…" She ran a hand through her hair. "She's… y'know…"

She trailed off, and Faye gave her an expectant look.

"What's this about?" Jo asked her. "Why do you care?"

Faye looked away, a sudden blush colouring her features. "That's… I don't _care_ , it's just…"

"Don't lie to me," Jo said, scowling at her. "You've been acting funny ever since I told you I'd be sparring with her. Why?"

Faye sighed, before looking Jo right in the eyes. Her expression was… Jo didn't have any words to describe it: there were unshed tears in her eyes, and her lower lip was crinkling, as though she was fighting back some sort of sob.

"Doesn't matter," she said. "See you later, Jo."

She stood up and headed off, and Jo's eyes widened with sudden understanding.

"Faye, wait -" she began, turning, but the other girl was already gone. Jo slumped back where she sat, suddenly feeling wretched.

 _Shit,_ she thought. _Shit, shit, shit._


	11. Ten: In Love And War - Part 1

**Ten**

 **In Love And War - Part 1**

* * *

 **Beacon Academy, November 9th, 106 ABC (After the Battle Of Calenhad).**

The next morning was so tense that one could have cut the air with a knife. Or indeed a pencil, if one were so inclined. Not that Nova Valkyrie had ever considered cutting people with a pencil. Or, for that matter, cutting people with a knife. She was more of a 'hitting things' person than a 'cutting things' person. She might have inherited her father's taciturn approach to… everything ( _'A still tongue keeps a wise head'_ had always been a saying Lie Ren went for) but she had definitely inherited her mother's taste in heavy, blunt objects.

The source of the tension, at least as far as Nova could tell, was her friend and partner, Jo Xiao Long. Jo had come to bed late after she had left the study group: Nova had been keeping a surreptitious eye on the door, just in case. Sure enough, Jo had looked miserable when she came in, and looked even more so this morning.

 _There's plenty of reasons why she could be miserable,_ Nova had thought at the time. But, realistically, there was only one that made sense.

Nova didn't exactly know what Jo saw in Faye Arc. Besides the obvious fact that Nova wasn't _in_ to girls like Jo clearly was, there was just the fact that Faye was too _loud_. Always giving speeches, being cocky or generally hiding her obvious insecurities with the kind of bravado that Nova considered _entirely_ unnecessary.

Still, her friend liked her, so that had to count for something, and Nova was fairly certain that Faye had a good heart behind the braggadocio. And her hair _was_ a pretty awesome shade of red.

Jo had gotten dressed in silence that morning, ignoring her calenand tossing her uniform on sloppily. Nova glanced around her teammates: Richard hadn't looked particularly bothered, but then he always seemed a little less than with it. Erika, on the other hand, _did_ look like she'd noticed, her eyes watching Jo carefully as the girl finished pulling her jumper on and gave a cursory wave, before walking out of their dorm room.

"Hey," Erika said quietly to Nova. "You think there's something up with Jo?"

 _Welcome to the understatement of the century,_ Nova thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. _I mean, did the downcast expression do the trick, or maybe the whole 'not talking to anyone at all' thing?_

She didn't say any of this, of course, she just nodded.

"I wonder what," Erika said, frowning. "You don't think her conversation with Faye went badly, do you?"

 _Correction:_ that _was the understatement of the century._ Nova nodded, trying to keep the exasperation off of her face. Gods, how were these people so _slow_?

"Great," Richard said, facepalming. "How in the hells do we help her with that?"

"I'm not sure we can," Erika said quietly, shaking her head. "For one thing, it's not really our place to interfere in their personal business."

Nova gave another nod. From her mother's stories, in matters of romance you could lead the proverbial horse to water, but you couldn't make him drink. Nova felt her fists clench with determination. She had always hated that saying, even if it _was_ right.

"We'll think of something," she said softly.

Erika gave her a look ( _why does everyone always look so surprised when I string more than two words together?_ ), and then nodded.

"Come on," Richard said quietly. "We don't want to miss today's lesson. The Gods know, Bowman will probably ask for an essay or something on whatever he's blathering on about today."

Nova nodded. Thatmuch, unfortunately, was probably accurate.

* * *

Teams JRNE and FATE were walking together to the history lesson, but Nova could tell that it wasn't just team JRNE that had a downcast leader. Faye Arc had her hands in her long black coat's pockets, the coat tossed idly over her school uniform jumper. She was slouching, as well. Nova found herself walking behind her.

 _Yup, that's definitely a change from the norm,_ Nova thought, frowning at Faye's back. _Where's the bravado? Where's the snarky comment? The flirting?_

"You noticed too?" a voice asked quietly from next to her, and she glanced to see Taylor Hermann, her hands firmly in her trench coat pockets ( _How is she allowed to wear her trenchcoat over the uniform?)_ , walking next to her. Behind her was Edwin Nocturne, his nose buried in a book that read _Ten Thousand And Two Applications For Dust._

Nova nodded in response to Taylor's question. It made sense that, of all the members of Faye's team, it would be her who noticed. That girl was always looking at things, as though studying…

… well, everything.

"Probably lover's spat," Taylor said after a moment, giving a derisive snort. "They should copulate and get tension done with."

Nova blinked. _Did she just say what I think she just said._

"What?" Edwin said from next to Taylor, his eyes widening in surprise. "Taylor, did you just -"

"Is obvious, isn't it?" Taylor said quietly. "All problems related to stress of personal relationship uncertainty. Remove uncertainty. End stress. Should be simple." She rolled her eyes. "People act very stupidly about these things."

 _Well, it_ is _pretty hard to dispute that,_ Nova thought, smiling ruefully.

"W-well," Edwin put in, "t-that's just how people are about… y'know. This… stuff. Y'know?"

"Then people are stupid," Taylor said. "If you feel emotions like that, you should express them simply and directly."

"You say that like it's easy to just _do_ that," Edwin said, scowling. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to express those feelings?"

 _He has a point,_ Nova thought, nodding slightly.

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Do _you_?"

 _Ouch,_ Nova winced. _Apply cream to burnt area._

Edwin sputtered. "T-t-that's not the point!"

 _Ok, where the heck is this conversation going?_ Nova thought to herself. She was almost tempted to butt in, but Edwin had already recovered, even under Taylor's unwavering stare.

"The point is -" he began.

"The point is, you're being loud," Richard hissed from behind them both. Nova turned to look at him: he was standing next to Erika, and the Faunus girl's ears were twitching angrily. "If you can't have the conversation subtly, maybe _don't_ have it?! It's a wonder they haven't both heard you!"

Nova looked back to Jo and Faye. They were walking next to each other, but neither of them were talking. Clearly, both were wrapped up in their own thoughts.

"They're preoccupied," Taylor said disinterestedly.

"Maybe," Richard replied, "but they're not _deaf_ , youmorons."

Taylor shrugged, and put her hands back in her trenchcoat pockets without another word. Huffing, Edwin looked back down at the ground as he walked.

"It really isn't that easy," he muttered to Taylor, but she didn't react.

Nova stopped paying attention to them. She remembered last term, when she had struggled to keep track of what was wrong with Jo. _Partners are meant to mean something,_ she had tried to tell the other girl then, and she had meant it.

 _I know,_ she wanted to say, _I know I'm quiet and I'm not always very obvious, but I'm your friend, too._

Of course, she wouldn't come out and say that. Not again. She winced at the very thought of being too vocal about her feelings. _Where's Han when I need him?_

Before too long, the entire group had ended up in the classroom hall. Jo and Faye took their usual seats with their teams, Jo next to Faye, but Nova could tell they were still being awkward.

Nova sat next to Jo and tapped her shoulder. The other girl started slightly, and looked at Nova as though only just noticing her.

"Hey," she said. "You ok?"

Nova nodded. She pointed at Jo, who gave her a bittersweet smile.

"No," she said, too soft for anyone else to hear. "Tell you later."

Nova frowned. _Sure you will._

She sighed, and looked to the front of the room, waiting for the eccentric Dr Bowman to show up. Sure enough, a moment later he stepped out of a door on the far side of the room, a green tweed coat slung over a collarless shirt with the cuffs poking out of the ends. To Nova's surprise, however, Bowman wasn't alone.

A woman with long red hair had stepped out of the doorway with him. She wore a simple set of white training clothes, and carried a spear and shield. Nova heard Augur take a sharp intake of breath, and a muttered 'shit' from Faye.

"Who is that?" Edwin asked Taylor.

The girl snorted. "You should pay attention more in history. That's Pyrrha Nikos-Arc."

Nova felt the urge to facepalm. She should have know that - her parents talked about the Arcs all the time! But then… she could count on one hand the number of times she had _met_ either Arc growing up.

"Alright, students," Pyrrha Nikos-Arc said, hands clasped in front of her as she looked around. "My name is Pyrrha Nikos-Arc. Shall we get started?"

* * *

 _Why the_ fuck _is Mom doing a lecture?_

It wasn't really that Faye minded the idea of her mother giving them all some sort of lecture - whether in history or anything else - but what she didn't appreciate was not knowing about it.

"I know some of you have probably heard of me," her mother said, an awkward smile on her face. "But I'm only really here to give a first hand account of some of the more important events of the Insurrection for Dr Bowman."

"For which," Bowman put in, smiling, "we are _very_ grateful, Mrs Nikos-Arc."

Faye saw her mother's smile get even more awkward. Pyrrha had once confessed to her children that she had always _hated_ the hyphen (a reason the children didn't have it), but she knew her Dad had insisted.

"Well, thank you, Doctor," she said again. She put her hands in front of her again. "So. Uh. Would anyone like to start with any questions about any particular event?"

After a moment, Faye saw Taylor put her hand up. Faye resisted the urge to groan.

"Yes, Miss…?" Pyrrha said, pointing to Taylor.

"Hermann, Taylor," Taylor said blandly, standing up. "Team FATE. Had question about first battle of Beacon, your capture by Fang Insurrectionists and their backers."

Pyrrha smiled. "I imagine that's an interesting subject for some people."

"You were believed dead for months," Taylor said evenly. "What happened to you?"

Bowman's eyes had widened in panic at the question, and Pyrrha's smile had become smaller and more rueful.

"I see," she said quietly. "Well, it's a matter of public record that I retired from active Huntress duties due to a heart condition. That condition was a side effect of experimentation that the Fang's scientists - and some of their backers - were performing on me."

Faye felt something fall out of the bottom of her stomach. She and Augur had heard this story in bits and pieces over the years, but it was still hard to listed to.

Taylor just looked impassive. "What sort of experimentation? What was objective?"

"That's a good question," Pyrrha said evenly. "We never found out. When I was rescued, those involved scuttled the project and any information on my condition." She let out a breath. "I hope that's satisfactory for you, Miss Hermann?"

"My satisfaction irrelevant," Taylor replied, shrugging as she sat down. "If that's the answer, that's the answer."

Pyrrha chuckled. "Well, that's fair enough." She looked around the room. "Any more?"

Another hand went up. Pyrrha pointed to a girl with spiky black hair streaked with red, clad in a leather jacket splotched with red paint and metal decorations.

"Gerda Hexenpfahl, Team AGSN, ma'am," the girl said, her tone polite but tinged with something standoffish. "I'm curious about your weaponset at the time of the Insurrection, if that's alright."

"Of course," Pyrrha said evenly, bringing her spear and shield out. "At the beginning of the Insurrection, I had my original weapons Miló and Akoúo, But they were destroyed when I was captured. After that, during buildup for the attack on Haven, I built these." She planted the spear's haft on the floor. "This is Kratiste, and the shield is Elenchos. Kratiste," she held the weapon up, and suddenly it shifted, the haft retracting, "can switch into a sword form, and also," and then the blade retracted into the handle and was replaced by the barrel of some sort of automatic rifle, "an assault rifle. When designing that aspect, I decided that mixing rate of fire and accuracy would be more fitting than the semi-automatic weapon Miló had been." She chuckled. "Elenchos, Of course, isn't that different from Akoúo."

Hexenpfahl folded her arms. "Wasn't changing your weapon's design so radically difficult for you, ma'am?"

Pyrrha chuckled. "I have to admit, after they were finished, I still found the differences between Miló and Kratiste a little… difficult to process fully, I suppose." She shrugged. "It's the sort of thing I could only appreciate after the fact. At the time, we were too busy to worry." Something flickered across her face, and though it was gone an instant later, Faye knew that expression well enough from the times she'd made it herself. "I hope that answers your question."

Gerda sat down, and soon Pyrrha was answering more questions, talking about the Battle of the Wall and other random queries about some of the events that Bowman's lessons had covered. Faye sighed, sitting back in her chair and not really paying attention: Augur would probably remember stuff, or Taylor, and she could always ask her mother herself if she felt like it.

Her mind began wandering. _Y'know, maybe the whole thing with Delilah's just some sort of reaction. Hey, she said she had like a tiny bit of Mom and Dad's DNA. Maybe that freaked her out._ Faye found herself involuntarily scowling. _Why doesn't it freak_ me _out? Maybe I should ask her about that. Or Dad._

Did it matter, though? Faye scowled to herself again. _Of course it matters. All of it matters. How am I supposed to figure out… or help her, or… if I don't pay attention to stuff that could freak her out? Or me? Or make our lives hard?_

She paused. _Did I really just think 'our lives'?_

 _Yup,_ some other part of her thought. _Not that bad a mental image, is it?_

Herself and Jo, a house in the country, killing Grimm as well…

Before she knew it, the bell rang and the lesson was over. She blinked. Had time passed that quickly, or had she been that lost in thought?

"Alright, everyone!" Dr Bowman said, raising a hand. "I don't want you to forget about this stuff! And we're going to be discussing essay questions soon enough, so don't think you've got out of that!"

There was a lot of groaning, but Faye ignored it. _Essays. Pfft. That's easy. Just ask the source, right?_

"Faye," she heard her mother call out, "can I have a word?"

Augur glanced back at Faye, who shrugged.

 _Wonder what Mom wants,_ she thought idly.

She looked around to watch her friends go, and saw Jo walk out. The other girl glanced back at her, and Faye looked away, not sure she wanted to meet her eyes. She focused on her mother, who was watching the students file out.

After a few moments, only Pyrrha, Faye and Bowman were left in the room.

"Doctor," Pyrrha said gently, "would you mind…?"

Bowman blinked for a moment, before registering what she said with a small smile, and bowing slightly, walking out.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Your teammate - Taylor? - is certainly bold," Pyrrha began, wringing her hands slightly.

Faye groaned. "Sorry about her, Mom. I'll talk to her."

"I'm not angry," her mother said quietly. "Actually I think that boldness will serve her well."

"You say so, Mom," Faye said, shrugging. "So. What's up?"

Pyrrha smiled ruefully. "Well… I was worried."

"Worried?" Faye echoed. " _Worried_?"

"You didn't look like you were paying attention," Pyrrha said evenly. "You looked… distracted."

Faye frowned. _Distracted? I mean… I was thinking about…_

"There it is again," Pyrrha said gently, poking Faye in the cheek and making her start.

"I…" Faye didn't know how to respond to any of this.

"Girl troubles?" Pyrrha asked gently.

Faye felt the blood rush to her cheeks. "W-what makes you -"

"A guess," Pyrrha said, "or, an _educated_ one. Nora says I had that same expression on my face, sometimes." She chortled. "I have to admit, I didn't think you'd inherit that particular character trait of mine. I always thought I'd be having the 'lovestruck teen' conversation with Augur first."

Faye looked away. "I don't really want to have this talk, Mom."

"If not with me, then with who?" her mother asked. "Do you really open up to anyone else? Your team? Augur?"

Faye didn't reply, but her mother seemed to take that as answer enough.

"What is it?" Pyrrha asked gently.

"She…" Faye felt tears springing to her eyes, and she struggled to suppress them. She brought a hand up to one of her eyes. "I think she likes someone else, Mom."

"Oh, darling." Pyrrha's expression became sympathetic. "I know how hard that must be."

"You do?" Faye asked, looking back at her.

"You think your father _wasn't_ an oblivious idiot at your age?" Pyrrha asked with a gentle laugh. "People can sometimes be blind to what's in front of them."

Faye nodded. She wiped more tears away, but they were coming more and more. "I just… I thought… I wanted…"

"Faye," her mother said, reaching out and pulling her daughter into a hug. "Darling. It's alright."

"It's not, though, Mom," Faye said, and her voice broke. "It's not. I thought… I wanted… why can't she…"

The two of them held the hug for a few moments, and then Faye stepped back, wiping tears from her cheek.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"You don't have to be sorry," Pyrrha said evenly.

"Yeah," Faye said, snorting derisively. "I'm just crying over some girl." She sighed. "Got no chance anyway."

"Have you actually told her how you feel?" Pyrrha asked.

"I…" Faye looked away again. "No."

"Faye," Pyrrha said after a moment, sighing. "If there's one thing I learned from my experiences at your age, it's that you have to be honest with the person you love as soon as possible, or you really _will_ never get the chance."

"But if she loves this other girl -" Faye began.

" _If_ she does, then she does," Pyrrha interrupted. "And _if_ she has a crush on both of you," she continued, "she might be confused, lonely, or maybe you misread the situation. There could be any _number_ of things going on, that you're not letting yourself understand or see. Especially with her."

Faye blinked. "You know."

"Your father told me all of these things over a decade ago," Pyrrha said dismissively. "The point being that… well…" She sighed. " _If_ you're wanting to be with her, then you have to make a move."

"And if she doesn't like me?" Faye asked.

"Then she doesn't," Pyrrha said with a sad smile. "And you know, instead of creating a thousand terrible situations in your head."

Faye nodded slowly. "I… ok, Mom."

Pyrrha's smile widened. "Whatever happens, my dear, you know that your father and I love you."

"I know, Mom," Faye said, smiling back. "Thanks."

"Alright," Pyrrha said, nodding. "You'd better get going before your friends get worried."

Faye nodded and headed out of the door, her mind already racing.

 _I have to be honest_ , she thought. She felt her fists clench with determination. _Alright. Honest I'll be._


End file.
